Mass Effect: Epic Tale
by Peewit22
Summary: Shepard suffers with the long term effects of her battle with Saren, the Geth & Sovereign. Surrounded by the comfort and love of those around her she only wishes she could get her own brain into order. Recently added story deviders. FemShep/Liara?
1. Blood And Metal

**Mass Effect: An Epic Tale.**

Peewit22

Disclaimer: I would just like to say before you begin that I do not own Bioware or any of its characters. Enjoy!

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Inside the tower, the council chambers were burning, the smoke choked air made visibility near zero, thin beams of bright light dance through the air in every single direction, quiet footsteps in the distance draw closer, the sound of panting becoming more and more evident, the footsteps begin to stop and start mixed with the louder sound of assault rifles bursting into action, each burst lasting for no longer than 10 seconds, Once again the sound of various footsteps picked up this time coming to a more sudden halt as the trio made it to their final destination; the very top of the council chambers. As the trio slowly checked out their surroundings, looking at one another for confirmation, none of which were received, the smoke began to clear slightly as they climbed to a higher altitude, finally as the smoke gradually faded into nothingness the trio were revealed, the group consisted of three female humanoid figures, but on closer inspection one of the figures had a soft, light blue skin tone, this was none other than the archaeological marvel known as Dr. Liara T'soni, who still had her gaze focused solely on the bridge where a single solemn figure stood, Liara's eyes piercing his back like lasers she never let him out of her sight as she shifted on her feet sideways so she would come shoulder to shoulder with one of the other women, as Liara continued to slowly pace to her left she final reached her target as she gently bumped her shoulder against that of Commander Sam Shepard, as Liara stopped Shepard gave her a sly grin but didn't give Liara enough time to respond before turning her attention back towards their selected target, no sooner had Shepard turned her attention to look forward Liara felt the delicate beginnings of a blush trickling up her neck luckily for Liara The spectre was too focused on what was in front of her to take notice of what Liara was doing. Liara was gently separated from her thoughts when Shepard Gently pushed away from her side to start taking slow and steady paces forward, Liara desperately wanted to grab Shepard's arm and pull her back to her, but in her heart she knew what had to be done, and Sam Shepard was the only person that could do it.

As Shepard began to approach the smoke shrouded figure she realized who it was, she could tell this simply by the florescent blue glow that was practically leaking from various areas dotting his entire form. As she came closer and closer to the small staircase leading up to the bridge that led to various pieces of orange, glowing devices, she could see just how rapidly his shoulders and arms were moving as he continued to tap away as the glowing console in his wake. Some may have thought that he was to ensnared in what he was doing to even realize the trio of women approach behind him, but the 'Some People' who would have thought that would have been wrong. Just as Shepard was about to put her foot down onto the first step a low almost mechanical rumble came from the figure in front of the trio, still standing with his back towards them tapping away hurriedly at the console, his shoulders still rolling back and forth as he continued to type, still remaining focused with his goal in hand.

"I was afraid you wouldn't make it in time… Shepard." Venom dripping from every inch of the sentence that he had just spat at Shepard. Shepard took notice to the fact that as he began to speak the unsettling blue hue underneath his skin began to shimmer more brightly, enough so to penetrate through his armour.

"In time for what!" Shepard preceded shout back, raising her voice simply to carry her voice across the vast void that was in-between herself and the figure in the distance, she was once told by a former family friend that by raising your voice you are displaying emotion, emotion is a weakness one that an enemy will feed on, Be calm, be quiet, be cool. She found this to be an imperative lesson that she always abided by but now, with the fate of an entire galaxy in her and her teams' hands, she wasn't so sure she could keep up the emotionless façade. An eerie silence lingered in the air, slightly more than the spectre's other teammate could bare, Ashley Williams wasn't the patient type, as the silence continued the figure decided to suddenly turn away from to console and to take two steps towards the group, as quickly as the trio's reflexes would allow them they each dived behind there covers Ashley and Liara both slid to the right hand side flower bed and ducked down, whereas Shepard dived to the left and took hold against the banisters end, just a bit closer to the bridge than the other two women would have liked, this showed as Liara and Ashley exchanged looks of concern for Shepard's choice in cover. Still no words were traded from either the former-rogue ex spectre or the first human spectre; the silence grew too much for Ashley as she rolled onto all fours and then proceeded to attempt to stand up, Liara knew what Williams was attempting to achieve and her goal was a dangerous one, usually Shepard would be here to stop Ashley from making these stupid mistakes but in the Commanders absence Liara decided to step up to the mark, Liara began by putting a Stern hand on Ashley's shoulder and gently but at the same time remaining firm, forced the young woman back to roll back around onto her bottom, after Ashley had settled back down into a covered position, she shot Liara a rather angry look, the look was so prominent that even Liara had picked up on it, Slowly Liara lent in towards Ashley's ear and calmly whispered;

"You will serve no purpose to the commander if you are dead…" For the first time since Ash could remember she found herself giving a rather embarrassed smirk and an understanding nod of the head towards the young Asari. Ash couldn't help but think to herself _**'Maybe Miss. Prothean Expert isn't so bad after all…' **_Ashley was quickly and suddenly brought out of her imaginings when the figures voice rang out once more, finally giving an answer to the Commanders first query.

"The final confrontation…" the figure finally managed rather smugly, not finished with his reply he then continued "I think we both knew it would come to this."

The tall figure finished off his sentence with the same smug tone in his voice that Shepard had grown quite accustomed to whilst conversing with this particular person.

"You've lost, you know that… don't you!" this time the Figure decided to raise his voice instead of Shepard, but rather than sounding like he had the upper hand, he came across as more of a petulant child, before returning to his more matter-of-factly tone of voice.

"In a few minutes Sovereign will have full control of the Citadels systems. The relay will open and the Reapers will return!" making his point with the utmost confidence that his plans will succeed, but still with the very same under lying tone of smugness, Shepard could think of nothing else for it, but to turn the tables back upon him, and to throw him some of his own smug self-promoting tone of voice back in his direction.

"I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve!" Shepard spat back in an almost comical, matter-of-factly tone.

With the Spectre's usually ill-timed humour the Figure looked quite amused and seemed to relax his stance for a few moments, as much as Shepard could, and did enjoy to make people laugh she was rather hoping to provoke the former Spectre, rather than make him chuckle under his breath… But laugh he did and he wasn't the only one, Liara also had found Shepard's little outburst and resilient sense of humour amusing, as Ashley swore that she could hear Liara let the air out of her lungs with an amused undertone, and as Ashley turned her head towards the young Asari to either confirm or lay her thoughts to rest, but instead she turned to see Liara attempting so seal her laughter in by covering her mouth with the back of her hand whilst simultaneously trying to hide the small grin that had appeared on her face, but as soon as Liara had realised that the Gunnery Chief had her gaze fixed onto her she forced the grin away and rapidly lowered her hand, just as the dark grape violet coloured blush once again began to flush into the young archaeologists otherwise delightfully blue face, to avoid further embarrassing the poor women, Ashley decided to turn her head back towards the heated vocal disagreement between Shepard and the Rogue former Spectre, but still in her mind began to think about how much she, as well as every other crew member of the Normandy SR1, knew about Liara's little crush on the Commander, and it seemed that everyone on the ship knew about the young Asari's feelings for the Commander other than Sam herself, but one day she was bound to find out _**'It**_ _**was**_ _**a**_ _**dead**_ _**Cert'**_ Ash thought to herself _**'She's a Spectre for crying out loud! And with the amount of scuttlebutt that goes around the Normandy… But then again the skipper was never one for idle gossip… As much as the Commander loved to get to know as much as she could about each and every one of her crew, when the subject of gossip was raised she seemed to just switch off. And what would the skipper do if she did find out?' **_There was no doubt how beautiful the young Asari archaeologist was, which reminded the young marine about the little conversation that she had shared with Liara during the de-brief after their little 'trip' to Therum, when the Asari revealed her age;

"_**I hate to admit it but I am only 106..." **_Ashley was positively dumbstruck with that particular revelation, as was the Commander.

"_**Damn! I hope I look that good when I'm your age!" **_Ashley remembered the odd sensation she had in her gut after the 'young' Asari's announcement; Ashley couldn't remember whether or not she should be Jealous or in awe of her, instead her thoughts were interrupted with a sudden comment from the skipper.

"_**Yeah! You do look good… I'll give you that…" **_Shepard replied in a rather odd tone, like the tone that she used to use when she had just found something of interest to her and looking around the room Ashley realized she may not have been the only person to pick up on this, as she saw Kaiden shift uncomfortably, but that was possibly because he had feeling for the Commander himself, not that the Commander knew anything of it. After looking at Kaiden Ashley took one last sweeping look around the room and noticed the exact same Grape violet blush climbing its way up to Liara's face, and Ashley could do nothing but let out a sneaky grin, when it hit her, _**'Maybe it was love at first sight? No, I don't think the Skipper would believe in that sort of crap… Would she? Nah, I don't think so… Maybe it's just infatuation on the Asari's part, after all the Skipper did save her life… Damn she saved all of our lives at some time or another…" **_Ash was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Shepard say "Dismissed" it always reminded her of being back at school.

As much as Williams hated aliens to begin with something about the Asari bought out Ash's protective side, and even though they had only just met Ashley even began to run the possibility through her mind that maybe one day that she and Liara might one day become close friends, Ashley also hated to think what would happen if the Skipper were to react badly to the news of Liara's feelings for her _**'No… The Skipper isn't like that, she'd let her down gently, or… Maybe she wouldn't need to let Liara down what if the Skipper felt the same way, hmm… never considered that…' **_Ashley was once again snapped out of her thoughts as she was walking towards the mess hall along with everyone else with the exception of Shepard of course, when she bumped into the back of Garrus as he stopped to wait for the elevator along with Tali, and Wrex, all Ashley could do was apologize until Garrus patted her on the back.

Ashley was suddenly brought back into the real world when the sound of Shepard jumping to her feet, made its way into the young marines ear drum, she craned her neck as much as she could so that she could see what was going on, remembering what Liara had whispered to her earlier she reminded herself to stay down, this wasn't her time to talk it was Shepard's and she knew that she would do well to remember it. All the young Marine could hear were the muffled ramblings coming from someone with a deep voice so that ruled Shepard out.

"You survived our… 'Little' encounter on Virmire but since then I have improved Sovereign has… Upgraded me."

"You let Sovereign implant you! Are you insane!" Shepard snapped her anger beginning to reveal itself.

Shepard didn't have long to add anything more to her rant before the figure interrupted her thoughts with yet another sharp twist of his tongue, "I suppose I should thank you Shepard, after Virmire I couldn't stop thinking about what you said, about Sovereign manipulating me… About indoctrination." The figure trailed off…

"The doubt began to eat away at me, Sovereign sensed my hesitation, and I was simply implanted to… strengthen my resolve." He raised his balled fist into the air before slamming it into the palm of his other hand, in an attempt to get his point across more effectively before continuing along with his speech.

"Now my doubts are gone, I believe in Sovereign completely, I know understand why they need organics. Join us Shepard… And Sovereign will find a place for you to!" the Figure claimed saying it as more of a statement then a question or offer.

"I'd rather DIE the live like that!" Shepard simply spat back putting all of the emphasis she could muster on the 'die.' Every word seething with venom.

"Then you will die." Came the low rumbling voice yet again with the same smug tone in which he treasured so much, before he continued. "And your companions… Everyone you know and love everyone you've ever met… will die! Don't you understand? YOU WILL ALL DIE!" practically shouting with his last statement the word clinging to the smoke filled air, rattling around Shepard's brain, constricting around her lungs, she knew what she had to do to make sure what he just said never, ever rang true.

"The Reapers cannot be stopped!" images of the distorted warning signal from Ilos crippled The Spectres mind as she relived the feeling of horror as she discovered the Protheans true fate at the hands of the Reapers, her thoughts soon diminished as the tall Figure began once more. "Not by the Protheans, not by you, not by anybody. The cycle ALWAYS continues!" this time putting his own emphasis into his words.

"The Reapers don't use organics they devour and discard them! As soon as your conquest is over you'll be cast aside. Don't expect anything different…" Shepard seethed her anger to the back of her mind trying not to let emotion stand in the way of reason, and for once she was winning against her mental struggle.

The figure began to argue back only this time he had started to sound rather dejected a rueful. "I had no choice!" Came the defensive reply of the madman "You saw what happened to the Protheans… Surrender or Death, there are no other options!"

"You could have resisted! You could have fought! Instead you gave in to them… You quit!" A sound argument even if Shepard did say so herself. As she began to stare, hard at the Figure before her she noted that the florescent blue glow began to dissipate as the Figures talon reached for his temple, before he began to speak once again, this time Shepard saw a glint of innocence in his eyes.

"Maybe… Maybe you are right Shepard… Maybe I could… Perhaps there is still a chance for… ARRGGHH!" The loud pained scream coming from the Figure gave Shepard a start as she watched him drop down to his knees, obviously in an awful amount of pain. As the strained voice called out once more, only this time much more weakly.

"The implants…! Sovereign is to strong… I'm sorry Shepard; it's too late for me…" As quickly as her legs would carry her she ran over to the slumped Figure kneeling down beside him, she placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling his every shudder as the pain lanced through his every nerve ending, slowly he looked up to her, no longer glowing blue at all. It was just him, as he used to be… The well respected Spectre, the trusted figure that once was Saren Arterius… As he looked into her eyes he saw the courage and the fearless look that could only belong to a Spectre, as he pondered his thoughts, an activity he hadn't been able to do in quite some time, he realized that a hand had rolled down In front of him, as he looked up to see what was going on Shepard motioned her hand beckoning his to take it, his eyes traced down from her shoulder to the palm of her hand, with his talon he latched onto the offered hand and was hoisted to his feet, barely standing Shepard grabbed his forearm in an attempt to steady him, her attempt was successful for the time being anyway. Shepard took a step back from him leaving Saren to stand free on his own, with a small stumble he soon found his feet the only things running through the ex-Spectres mind were of how compassionate the young woman in front of him was being, after everything he did to her… To the galaxy, she really was their saviour that was not to be denied of her.

Shepard's gaze turned to meet that of the two concerned women behind her looking at her, wondering what she would do next; Shepard knew what she had to do even if they didn't. Gracefully Shepard's head looked forward to meet Sarens inquisitive gaze and then she slowly dropped her head to look at the holster where her pistol was rested, just as gracefully as before she removed the pistol from its container and took yet another step back for Saren, holding the barrel of the pistol she held it out towards Saren, offering him a way out, but trusting him to make the right choice. Sarens eyes darted from Shepard's Piercing green eyes to the shiny red metal of the pistols handle, carefully he raised on hand to take it, talon firmly gripping it he gently slid it away from Shepard's hand whilst he did so Shepard's finger caught the safety switch, giving him a further push towards the inevitable, the still piercing Olive green eyes staring directly into his grey ones, his took this final moment to relish the free movement in which he was allowed within his own mind. _**'Maybe if I would have met Shepard under different circumstances… Hmmm…' **_The thought made him smile internally and externally, he slowly raised the gun towards the underside of his chin ready to squeeze the trigger Shepard had one last thing to say.

"Make this Right." Shepard spoke in a soft comforting whisper.

No more words were exchanged. They didn't need to be, Shepard knew the real Saren regretted what he had done they both knew that, with that being said Saren gave a deft nod before closing his eyes and giving the trigger that final squeeze. The sound of one solemn shot echoed with the confined space, Shepard winced as speckles of the Turians royal blue blood hit her armour; all she could do is watch as Sarens body completely devoid of life, carefree of all his troubles washed away from him as he fell gracefully down from the bridge and began hurtling towards the ground at quite a speed finally until the his carefree, limp form crashed against the soft soil of the garden beneath the bridge. The two women still standing downwind from Shepard began to slowly step forward eventually reaching Shepard's side, nothing was said Shepard simple stood in the deafening silence that lingered within the chambers, staring into nothingness. The two women exchanged looks of concern for a brief time before Liara finally reached out placing a soft, comforting hand upon the Spectre's shoulder, ever so gently Liara turned the Commander to face her, seeing Shepard's face, empty and emotionless Liara swiftly pulled the Commander into a tight embrace but the embrace was not reciprocated, Shepard just stood there like a mannequin never faltering just simply standing there.

A few minutes later Shepard's tune had changed she now had purpose in her eyes as she took quick –paced strides towards the console which Saren was using not 10 minutes ago. She finally hit her destination reaching for the console she began tapping away at the holographic interface with a renewed energy, The Spectre then proceeded to slide the OSD into the slot and began working away at the console once more, Liara and Ashley just stood back from her staring at her in awe not 7 minutes ago she was in shock and now, now she was tapping away at the holographic keys like a Geth would. After what seemed like forever Shepard turned back to face Liara and Ashley with a burning passion in her eyes, that could only mean that they were ready to go, only not quite Shepard had one more task for the two women but it seemed like an easy enough task to complete.

"You two." Shepard said weakly as she hesitated, twisting her neck to look back in the direction of Sarens twisted corpse, before returning her sight back onto the two people that stood before her with a sigh Shepard began to speak once more "Go… Go make sure that he's dead." She stated as she turned back to the holographic interface and began typing once again. Ashley quickly turned around and began to walk down the staircase leading towards the gardens entrance, Liara hesitated, staring at the back of Shepard's head, before she slumped her shoulders and began to jog down the same route that Williams had just taken. Shepard waited before the two women were out of sight and earshot before she pushed herself away from the console and lent against the nearby banister to her left, before letting the air escape from her lungs letting out a small sigh as she did so.

"It's over… Finally after all this time, it's over…" The lone Spectre muttered to herself before sighing once more.

As Ashley approached Sarens body she rapidly withdrew her pistol from its holster and even more rapidly shooting the corpse once more this time square in the face, as a rather nasty sounding splat echoed for a while Liara reached for her earpiece pressing it firmly with her index finger and middle finger as she contacted Shepard to tell her the news.

"He is dead." Liara stated matter-of-factly, before she turned her head to look up towards the bridge to see if she could spot Shepard

With no luck she tapped Ashley on the shoulder motioning with her head towards the exit, just as they were about to leave a strong vibration caused what felt like the entire Citadel to shake as Liara and Ashley stumbled around trying to steady their feet so they could find the source of the disturbance, with no success and with both of their legs giving way, they both tumbled to the floor in sync as another loud crashing sound hit the two women's ear drums, Williams managed to look up only to see the Skipper lying face down in the grass her body beaten and broken, as Ash went to run towards her she took notice of the candescent red colour shimmering more and more rapidly through Sarens apparently dead body Ashley watched in horror as his body tossed and turned before standing upright, Ashley quickly looked around to see where Liara was, just as she turned to her right she saw Liara standing beside her panting for air _**'At least two of us are ok, now we just need the Skipper to get up…" **_Ash thought to herself as felt the worried expression wash over her face, turning to Liara she noted the she also had the very same expression on her face to.

As Sarens body re-animated itself all of the skin that had previously covered the corpse had now completely burned away leaving nothing more than a robotic skeletal form hanging in front of the two women, the same arrogant voice shattered the atmosphere as it rang out to the two conscious women the other still out cold on the floor. This time the voice seemed more tinny and metallic then it had previously.

"I am Sovereign! And this is my station!" The white-hot form of Sovereign lunged forward towards the two women before shifting its attention to the rather battered body of Commander Shepard who was now standing up, fresh maroon coloured blood dripping from a rather deep laceration running from the middle of her right eyebrow down over her right temple ending just above her cheekbone, she also had a rather large shard of glass protruding from her right bicep vast amounts of blood trickling down from the wound, she was clutching her arm wound quite heavily, it looked as if she was holding her arm together, the expression on her face remained that of steel as Sarens broken corpse dived towards her, she just hung her head. This time there was no negotiating with Saren as the corpse lifted one of its gigantic talons into the air Shepard's eyes following its movements, Ashley and Liara watched in horror as Saren plunged it deep into the Shepard's right shoulder an inch beneath her collarbone, Liara gasped and fell to her knees as the talon passed straight through Shepard's shoulder and revealing it's tip four inches outside Shepard's back, as Saren slid the talon back out Shepard closed her eyes Shepard still not making a single sound, but the pain was evident in her face. Liara and Ashley could see her jaw visibly clench as her jaw muscle began to dance with movement, with the talon fully out Sarens corpse went back for another attack this time stabbing Shepard on the left side of her ribcage again the talon plunged in and out in the blink of an eye, Ashley looked to Liara only to see tears trickling down from the Asari Maidens eyes, as Ash continued to watch, the familiar cyan glow traced around Liara's body but this time it seemed stronger Ash couldn't put her finger on why she just felt the over-powering taint of dark energy linger around in the room.

As Sarens newly animated corpse was violently thrown into the far wall along with the sickening sound of bending mental and snapping wires. The rock that was placed in the centre of the garden, though usually for its aesthetic presence was biotically lifted and used to smash Sarens body into million different pieces as Ashley began to fire her shotgun wildly at the former spectres body with a burning vengeance. Liara and Ashley were soon snapped out of there furious stupor when a sudden weak gasp for air stirred behind them, Liara let go of the rock letting it crash down one final time as Ashley quickly clipped he shotgun back into place on her back, they both gave one another a petrified stare when they turned to see Shepard lying in a large pool of her own blood weakly gasping for air, Liara bolted towards her reaching her first she slid on her knees as she cradled Shepard's head in her arms as Shepard's eyelids began to droop Liara was to shocked at the sight before her and lost track of what she needed to do.

"Sam? Sam…? Can you hear me?" Liara pleaded breathlessly as she tried to hold in her barely contained sobs.

"C'mon! We need to call for the medics! The Skipper won't last very long if we just stand here gawping at her!" Ashley shouted. Liara had barely noticed the Chiefs outburst, focusing all of her attention solely on Sam, as Liara gently stroked Shepard's brow with the pad of her thumb in an effort to comfort the broken woman as she lay there quietly toiling away in pain.

The two women were suddenly alarmed when Shepard's comm unit bleeped with the sound of an incoming call, Liara furrowed her brow as she leaned forward to inspect it further, and as she got closer to the source she noted that the comm was flashing blue which meant only one thing, Ashley and Liara spoke the identity of the called in sync.

"Admiral Hackett…" As Liara currently had her hands full cradling the beaten Spectres head, Ashley reached down to Shepard's armoured collar unclipping the device from its holder she swiftly went to work on attempting to answer it, but her hands were covered in too much of Shepard's blood as she chased the device around the palms of her hands for the vital few seconds she eventually got a good grip on it pressing to accept the call.

"Hell….o….Can…You hear…me…?" The Admirals voice stranded in waves of static broken by a few minutes of frantic shouting after some technological marvel the voices became oddly clear as the static washed away.

"Hello! Shepard...! Damn it! SHEPARD!" the Admiral panic stricken on the opposite side of the link Ashley froze, she'd never spoken to the Admiral in her life but surely today she would make a lasting impression, a quick agitated glance from Liara boosted Williams to finally speak up.

"Admiral Hackett? This is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the Normandy SR1 requesting immediate aid. I repeat immediate aid! Spectre Shepard is grievously wounded and severely needs medical attention…! Help us…" Her last two words were more of a prayer than they were a request. Ashley's hands shuddered violently as she anxiously awaited the Admirals reply.

"We need to know whether to send in the fleet and save the council or to hold back and give the Reapers everything we've got! Put Shepard on, Now Williams!" The Admiral spat as he in turn now anxiously awaited Shepard's reply.

"WHAT! Didn't you just hear me! Shepard needs help… SHE'S BLEEDING OUT!" Williams snapped back unable to control her anger at the bureaucratic types any longer. Ashley was soon directed away from her oncoming rant as she heard the distant sounds of weak spluttering, she turned her head to see blood leaking from the Commanders mouth at an alarming rate this time it was a deeper shade of maroon than it was before, Williams recognized this as a very bad sign, her gaze darting up to the Asari hovering above the Commanders broken form, tears pooling in her eyes, Ashley quickly skidded to her side, putting her arm around the Asari in an attempt to stave off the hysterical fit that she saw the young Archaeologist was soon to fall victim to.

"Can't you hear that Admiral! She's dying! Sent us help… NOW!" Ashley snapped once more.

"I'm sorry chief… We just need the word from Shepard we…" The Admiral was cut of mid-sentence as Liara snatched the device from the young marines' hands as she took it upon herself to give the Admiral a piece of her own mind.

"Don't you see Admiral!" Liara spat down the Comm. "You are killing her, the first human Spectre, and you insist upon denying her help! It's a wonder that she hasn't been killed already, with the amount of ignorance that you! And the rest of your bureaucratic compatriots possess! You are denying the one person in this entire universe that is, and will continue to do good for every sentient race out there in the vast black void that we call space! You make me Sick! You and the council, the lot of you, your all just as bad as one another no wonder she hated you all so much! I'm finally starting to…" Liara was stopped by the sudden and unmistakable presence of Shepard's hand upon her forearm. Weakly the Spectre began to speak.

"Tell… Tell them to…" Shepard's voice trailed off as she tried to speak once more. "Tell them to…" She was once again interrupted by the need to choke down the blood that had collectively pooled in her mouth, wincing from the strong iron taste she began again "Save the Council… Save the Ascension…" Shepard's last few words were strained as she had to really force her voice to be heard and even then it was weak, as Shepard finished her order she coughed faintly before her entire body going limp from the immense pain that seared in her body, softly dropping her bruised head back onto Liara's waiting embrace.

Liara reached her hand forward hesitantly as she started to check for a pulse, a slight smile slipped across the young Asari's face as she turned to Ashley to confirm her discovery.

"She is still with us… But if we do not get her the medical attention that she requires soon… I fear for the worst." Liara's voice soft and full of concern for the broken Spectre, her sentence trailing off as she returned her gaze to the very deep gash the spread across the Commanders brow, Liara also noticed that the bridge of the Spectres nose was pinching together, as she once again turned to Ashley to tell her of her observation in an attempt to get the Chief to hurry along with calling for help.

"She must be in terrible agony." Liara whispered under her breath more to herself then to anyone else.

As Ashley finished her call to the Normandy's medical team she slowly approached the young Asari placing her un-armoured hand upon her back whilst moving the pad of her thumb up and down in a rather foolish attempt to calm the Doctor down.

"Don't worry Liara, she'll be ok I just know it." Ash's comment was preceded by a wink as she stood back up, in a vain attempt to dust herself off. Liara once again returned her gaze back to Sam and continued to gently massage the pain away from the Spectres brow.

"I hope so… Goddess, I hope so…" Liara waited until the young marine was out of earshot before she began to finish her last sentiment. "I love you Samantha Shepard… And I always will." She sealed her love for the Spectre with a gentle kiss upon her forehead, remaining careful not to touch the deep laceration upon the Spectres brow. Liara wasn't sure but she could have sworn that she could see the edges of the Spectres mouth curl up the tiniest amount in an effort to smile, Liara in turn quietly giggled under her breath so as not to alert the Chief as to what she had just told Shepard.

No sooner had the Comm message been sent to Dr. Chakwas and the rest of the medical team, the sounds of footstep could be heard at the staircase when more medics then Liara and Ashley could collectively count began to march into the garden area where Shepard was lying soon after their entries Wrex and Garrus appeared at the small archway before the staircase with a stretcher between them they quickly manoeuvred their way into the garden and by orders from Chakwas set the stretcher down a few inches away from Shepard. Oddly enough both Garrus and Wrex recoiled in horror as they saw what was left of their Commander before them.

"Are they sure it's a stretcher we needed to bring, and not a coffin..?" Wrex muttered under his breath more so to himself them to anyone else but the acute hearing of the Turian beside him earned Wrex a stiff if not furious glare from Garrus.

"Shepard is made from sturdier stuff then that, she'll be ok." Garrus stated matter-of-factly, but still Wrex could see the doubt creep into the face of the forlorn Turian, instead of wanting to agitate the Turian anymore than he had Wrex simply held up his hands in a defensive posture and began to back away from the scene in front of him, turning to speak to one of the marines further away.

The whole room turned into a frantic hive of activity as Dr. Chakwas tended to Shepard who somehow was now lying on a fold-out gurney surrounded by drips and monitoring devices, the sound of Shepard's comm system now in Ashley's hands cutting through the atmosphere like a knife through butter as everyone in the room could hear the sounds of celebration, cheers and clapping coming from the other end of the comm, Williams just had to know what was going on, on the other end.

"JOKER! What the hell is going on up there?" Even though she was more concerned with how the Skipper was faring, she still wanted to know what the racket was about.

"Chief? Where's Shepard? And why have you got her comm? Never mind tell her the fleet saved the Destiny Ascension and we've destroyed Sovereign!" Another round of applause and playful shouting broke out in the background on Jokers side, before he could continue. "Chief? Are you still there?" Came Jokers hasty question.

"Yes! I'm still here!" William cheerfully shouted to Joker in her mind she was relieved to her of the Reapers demise, her thoughts being cut short as Liara approached her having been moved to one side so the medics could see to Shepard, Williams with the happy grin on her face was greeted with the tear soaked face of the young Asari maiden, the smile quickly gaining Liara's attention, she furrowed her brow in confusion as she looked to Williams for answers.

"Oh! Right the smile…" Ashley spoke as she finally realized what Liara was looking at. "Joker and the rest of the Fleet just saved the Destiny Ascension. Oh! And the Council too!" Ashley finished the smile staying firmly on her face.

"Well…" Liara began to speak weakly as she looked down watching the floor as she gently kicked the dirt with her feet "I guess that's one less thing she will have to worry about." Liara said softly as she looked over to the gurney upon which Shepard was resting, a brief smile playing on her lips. Ashley put her arm around Liara and began to lead her over to were Wrex, Garrus, Tali and some of the other crewmembers were congregating, as they began to walk the comm buzzed online again.

"Ughmm… Chief, where are you and the rest of the crew right now…?" Joker now seemed to have a more serious tone of voice in him. Ashley took an unnecessary sweeping look around before she answered not sharing in Jokers serious fashion.

"Where do you think?" She chided him jokingly.

"I'm not messing around here Chief! Where is your current location?" He scolded back rather hurriedly. Confusion shimmered within the young Marines eyes as she replied to his query.

"Uhmm, currently we are all in the Council Chambers, Citadel tower." She spoke loud and clearly. "Why Joker?" Williams asking her own question this time.

There were collective gasps on Jokers side of the Comm before he began to speak.

"Chief! You need to get the hell outta there! NOW!" He all but screamed down the comm.

"Why Joker? What's going on!" Ashley's voice also growing in pitch and anxiety in equal measure "JOKER! STATUS REPORT!" She made sure her shouting could be heard by him this time.

"Ok, look Chief there's no time to tell you the whole story but rest assured its bad. When we took out Sovereign, chunks of its hull and legs flew everywhere, now one of those arms is heading directly to your location… You need to get everyone out of there and fast!

Joker explained as he tried his hardest to hurry Williams up. Ashley's jaw slacked she couldn't move, stuck to the same spot on the floor, Liara on the other hand managed to dart over to Dr. Chakwas and tell her what Ashley had just been told, Chakwas in turn told another marine to quietly lead everyone in the garden to safety. As all of the crew include Shepard now on a stretcher were carried up the staircase leading to the Council Chambers they froze motionless as they looked through the window to see a gargantuan scrap of what was presumed to be one half of one of Sovereigns many legs came hurtling towards them.

"Come!" Chakwas shouted at the frozen bunch "We need to hurry!" She finished tugging at Chief Williams's arm, the chief gave her a quick glance before they started to run, but it was already too late, a splinter of the leg came crashing through the window landing right in front of Ashley and Chakwas who were ahead of their group, a piece of the splinter just catching Ashley on her ankle making her fall to the floor, as she was about to stand back up she saw Chakwas run back towards the clan muttering obscenities under her breath. As Ashley completely pull herself upright once more she noticed Shepard as she slumped off the stretcher and began to run, or at least try to run back from the group as the final shard of Sovereign smashed through the remaining pieces of window.

"What the hell is she doing!" Ashley screamed as she bolted toward the group looking at each of the dazed faces as she looked back up to Shepard who now had the same familiar cyan glow that Ashley had earlier seen coming from the Asari. Still confused she began to shout again.

"SHEPARD! You'll get yourself kill…" Ashley was halted mid-sentence as a dark blue bubble surrounded her and the rest of the group, the young marine nearly gagged as she felt the horrible vertigo sensation as she and the rest of the crew flew towards the far side of the Council chambers as they landed, to Ashley's surprise softly on yet another patch of garden as Ashley rubbed her eyes so that she could perhaps see where they were she could faintly make out the florescent orange and green glows coming from the nearby transportation hub, she then looked up further to see the massive bulk of Sovereign that threatened them with their deaths not two minutes ago, now glowing in the same blue hued bubble that also surrounded them not two minutes ago, as Ashley looked around to see if anyone else had landed nearby she saw Dr. Chakwas holding Liara back in an attempt to get the Asari to stay put and not run up to try and rescue Shepard, who was now the only thing standing between Sovereign and the group, Liara's face contorted in anger that was no doubt directed at Chakwas.

"Let me go!" Liara shouted at Chakwas as she tried to squirm free from Chakwas's grasp, rather unsuccessfully.

"No Dr. T'soni! Shepard is the only thing stopping everyone here from dying!" Chakwas shouted back between Liara's gasps for freedom, trying to convince the Asari of Shepard's motives, but Chakwas wasn't sure she was entirely convinced herself.

"Yes! And by doing so she will get herself killed, and what purpose would that serve!" Liara stated trying to make more of a logical point than asking a genuine question, as Chakwas's grasp loosened just enough for her to turn and face the Doctor, eyes full of rage, she felt the Doctor grapple a hold of her once more rendering her powerless.

"I know." Chakwas whispered as she tightened her grip so to incapacitate the Asari before she continued to speak. "Her death would cause more harm than good, which is why you have to let her carry on, if you stop her now we will all be killed and without a crew she will end up running herself into the ground. She needs us to stay strong, so help her help you, and the rest of us, and let her continue..." Chakwas pleaded with the Asari as she met her gaze. "Please…" Chakwas whispered in an effort to calm the hysterical Archaeologist.

"But… She will most certainly burn out her implant, and cause herself brain damage will she not?" Liara asked as concern for the Spectre surged into every word.

"Maybe" The Doctor replied weakly her hands now completely free of the Asari "But we will be right here to catch her when she falls. Trust me. I won't let anything happen to her." Chakwas looked deeply into Liara's eyes as she pulled her into a tight hug "Trust me."

"I do… Completely." Liara now speaking as weakly as the Doctor had before, as the entire group turned to see the chunk of hull that nearly killed them being slowly dropped to the ground with a loud thud, the floor vibrated, as the piece of Sovereign turned from its bright blue hue to its normal black one. Without warning Liara and Dr. Chakwas made a mad dash for Shepard, followed closely by Ashley and the rest of the crew. As they reached Shepard's location they forgot about the smaller shard of the hull that had broken off blocking them originally, without a second thought the entire squad of marines grabbed hold of it and pulled it around just enough to make a small gap in which they could all slide in and out of with ease also leaving room for the stretcher they were inevitably going to have to carry through.

As the small team ran through the first sight they were greeted with was the collapsed form of the Spectre.

"That was lucky." The krogan warlord piped up as every face in the room turned to him each with an angry expression "What? This place is a maze she could have been anywhere!" The hearty tone of his voice caused a few of the marines to smile slightly.

"Come on." Chakwas chided as she tapped Liara on the arm "She's not out of the woods yet." She finished as she broke into a jog before reaching Shepard, Liara simply nodded and followed suit as did Ashley and Tali.

"Holy Crap!" Ashley shouted as she slid on her knees to her Skippers side "She looks awful…"

"Indeed she does." Chakwas finished Ashley's earlier thought. Chakwas then reached for the Spectres neck checking franticly for a sign that she was still with them; furrowing her brow she began to tell the others of her knowledge "We have a pulse… It's weak, but it's there never the less." She added as she signalled Garrus whispering something into what they could only assume was his ear.

"Of course Doctor." He replied. The Doctor simply nodded. Garrus returned ten seconds later with the rest of the medical team and the gurney "Here you are Doctor." He stated proudly just happy enough to be able to help Shepard in some way or another no matter how miniscule.

"Thank you Mr. Vakarian." The doctor replied softly giving him a pat on the back as she stood up.

"Please doctor, call me Garrus." He sighed returning her pat on the back with a hand on her shoulder "I insist." Chakwas nodded her head unobtrusively, giving a subtle smile as she did so, Garrus responded in kind.

"Come on then, Let get her back to the Normandy, quick smart." Giving a quick glance to Liara who had Shepard by the hand gently stroking the back of her hand with the pad of her thumb "We've got a lot of work to do as far as Shepard's involved." This time her caring comment directed towards the rest of her medical team, as her foot unclipped the brake on the gurney, watching as Garrus and Wrex wheeled the unconscious Spectre away. Returning her eyes back to Liara and Ashley who were standing side by side, Chakwas pushed in-between the two young Women resting both of her hands on each of the women's backs, making a circle pattern with her thumb.

"You two did extremely well today. We are all in your debt… Thank you." She praised giving them both a gentle pat on the back Chakwas stepped forward, and turned to face them "Coming?" She motioned with her hand as she began walking following the trail of blood that had dripped onto the floor, Ashley wiping away the sweat that had beaded on her forehead, and Liara wiping away her tears, both brought out of their daze as the upper-class British accent rang out once more "We have a very poorly Spectre to save…" Her eyes examining the blood that stained to usually flawless ground, as the group continued towards the elevator.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the Massively long chapter, trust me they won't all be that long I just wanted to get the story established first. I took some ideas from other authors you may recognise some of them. My main inspiration was from Elizabeth Carter thank you so much, for inspiring me to start writing my own stuff, although it seems like a helluva coincidence my first and only Femshep is called Samantha, that maybe why I like Elizabeth Carter's work so much because I can really picture my own Shepard in her stories. But anyway enough about that I would also like to add that I hope you enjoy the story so far in all of its lengthy glory and expect updated soon… Oh and all reviews are welcome… I fact they would be implored! Thanks for reading so far.


	2. Hurt And Pain

Mass Effect: An Epic Tale. Chapter 2

Peewit22

Disclaimer: I would just like to say before you begin that I do not own Bioware or any of its characters. P.s: this story isn't beta proofed so excuse my bad grammar and any spelling mistakes, otherwise enjoy!

* * *

Back aboard the Normandy SR1, Shepard was quickly rushed into the infirmary with Doctor Chakwas in tow. Ashley and Liara tagged steadily behind them keeping their distance allowing the medics to work their magic upon Shepard. If Liara could have been with Shepard she would have been but Chakwas had told her as well as the rest of the crew to remain outside for the moment and had assured Liara that she would be the first one allowed to see Shepard after she'd been tended to, this consoled the young Asari somewhat she and the Spectre had parted on rather an odd note and Liara didn't know whether or not she had imagined it or had Shepard reciprocated to her admittance? If not then Liara would no doubt have a lot of explaining to do, Liara couldn't help wince at the thought of Shepard's rejection she wouldn't know what to do with herself if that happened.

Shepard had been Liara's rock through everything from rescuing her from the crumbling Prothean ruins on Therum to helping her to deal with her true feelings about Benezia. Liara had planned on visiting the Spectre before they hit Ilos but when she had reached the door to Shepard's private quarters she couldn't bring herself to buzz in.

Liara thought it would have been selfish to just dump all of her feelings upon the unsuspecting Commander especially right before such a complicated mission. Liara began to think about how it could compromise Shepard's command structure. What if Shepard was in the awful position of having to send Liara to certain death? Could she do so knowing how Liara felt about her? Even more so if she had felt the same way. Liara compromised with herself _**'Tell Shepard after the Mission.' **_She thought. It made sense to Liara, that way everything would be ok and if the Commander didn't feel the same way it would give Liara and easy route to exit. And what if Shepard felt the same way? Well… She'd just have to wait and see but the tingling sensation Liara received just from the mere thought of Shepard; well she may end up passing out with the amount of emotion and feelings that Shepard was able to stir within her.

Liara smiled unconsciously as she and the Chief were walking down the bridge of the Normandy, it was a kind of dopey smile that lovesick teenagers would get when they were separated from one another for longer than 10 minutes. The Chief knew exactly what or should she say 'who' was causing the Asari to smile this way this and she planned on letting Liara know about it but not before she had her fun with the young asari first.

"Don't you think the Commander has had enough claws sunken into her for one day?" Ashley jibed. Liara suddenly turning to face her with a confused look playing upon her delicate features.

"Whatever do you mean Chief?" Liara asked in a playful tone. To give her credit where credit was due Liara was grasping Human humour at an alarming rate. Just like Joker had once said "Give her half an hour and a joke book and she could be funnier than a Hanar on a frozen lake!" Ashley couldn't help but smile as she remembered the sentiment, and the look of confusion growing more and more visible upon the Asari's face.

"I know that look." Ash pointed out as she circled the air in front of Liara's face with her index finger teasingly "Your smitten with somebody. Now all I have to work out is who your 'smitten' with…" The deep Grape violet blush flushed into the young Asari's face yet again, as she turned away from the Chief and started the power walk towards the staircase, Ash gave pursuit and was hot on her heels. When Ashley was close enough to Liara she reached her hand out towards the asari's shoulder and placed her hand firmly upon it stopping Liara in her tracks.

"Tut, Tut" Ash smiled and spoke teasingly as she waggled her finger in front of the shocked Asari's face. "You won't get rid of me that easily…" She finished as she let go of the young Asari maiden and continued to walk alongside her through to the Mess Hall where they both took seats opposite each other on the central table.

Ashley would have taken the seat facing the Med bay door, but it would seem the Asari also had similar tactics and claimed that particular seat for herself. As they both sat Ashley let out a breath of air as she looked up to see Liara who now had her elbows resting on the table, with her hands clasped together resting her chin upon them whilst simultaneously focusing her eyes and soul onto the Med bay doors and prepared to wait patiently until Dr. Chakwas had given the all clear for her to enter. Little did Liara really know what was going on behind those doors….

* * *

Chakwas exited the med bay lab and rushed over to Shepard's side with a syringe full of sedatives so she could numb Shepard's pain before they began to prep the spectre for surgery.

The lacerations that Sarens corpse had inflicted upon Shepard were horrific, it was safe to say that they were probably the worst the doctor had ever seen in her life and that was quite a statement considering she had been an alliance doctor well before Shepard had even joined the military and the good doctor was even at Shanxi so she knew bad injuries when she saw them. Whilst bringing Shepard into the med bay, Chakwas had promised to inform Liara of anything new that she would have to do with Shepard, so before she even began to prep the spectre for treatment she had one very worried Asari to tell about Shepard's current medical concerns.

Chakwas left Shepard in the capable hands of her fellow medics, as she exited the med bay Liara jumped out of her seat praying to the goddess for good news; unfortunately her prayers were left unanswered. As the human doctor approached, Liara and Ashley stood to attention. Filling in for the Asari, who seemed to have lost her voice. Ashley began to speak, swallowing hard to clear the lump that had formed in her throat.

"Is she ok? Can we go in and see her now?" Ashley let the words tumble from her mouth until Chakwas held a comforting hand up to try and quell William's verbal outburst.

"There are a few problems I'm afraid." She spoke with her usual unwavering tone of confidence which meant there was still some hope yet. Chakwas's eyes began flickering from Ash to Liara as if she were watching a tennis match. Looking down she pulled out her data pad and began to scan her eyes over its contents.

"To start with she has lost an awfully large amount of blood. And after the scans we took we have come to the same conclusion that surgery was the only option in order to fix the tears to her Pectoralis major muscle and her Trapezius muscle. Were Sarens first strike hit her he left a 5 inch clean cut wound that ran straight through both of said muscles. So we have to fix those first then we will patch up the second laceration that stuck her ribcage, once again Sarens talon ran clean through the entire width of her body, but only this time not so cleanly, the rib area is rife with obstacle's and for a blade… Or in this case a talon to pass through, well… You can probably guess for yourselves what happened. That being said he managed to snap four of her ribs on her left hand side, whilst doing so puncturing her left lung and leaving a four inch gash there as well, so we'll have to deal with all that too. In addition to all of that Saren also managed to break her Clavicle as well as her Scapula and her Humerus. And there are the other obvious cuts and bruises to but that was to be expected. As well as the nasty cut to her forehead." The doctor finished her speech looking a little drained, all the while making what she and her team were about to do to Shepard sound like she was going to put up a shelf.

With Ashley and Liara looking rather puzzled Chakwas decided to elaborate.

"Basically, in layman's terms she has a hell of a lot of torn muscles and broken ribs as well as a punctured lung, severe blood loss, a shoulder that's broken in more than 9 places, 13 including the fractures, tonnes of stitching up to be done…" She stopped to take a breath as Liara and Ashley exchanged worried glances before Chakwas started once again. "But don't worry you two, it's nothing me and my team cannot deal with, you've done your part for the galaxy now let me do mine." Chakwas finished in an eerily satisfied tone. As he turned and began to walk back towards the med bay Ashley rushed to step in front of her.

"Doc! Me and the Skipper share the same blood group AB negative, maybe I can give her some of mine?" Ashley was hopeful; she would do anything to help the Skipper especially when Shepard wasn't able to speak for herself.

"Hmm… That's certainly true. And with the rarity of yours and Shepard's blood type you may be the only blood donor for light-years. C'mon then Williams in you go I'll be right through in a moment." Chakwas finished turning back to Liara.

* * *

As Ashley entered the med bay she saw the Spectre on the operating table surrounded by dozens of monitoring devices and other various drips. Ash slyly looked around to see if anyone was watching to her delight there wasn't a soul in sight.

'_**They must all be scrubbing up or something.'**_ She thought as she approached Shepard's prone form. Ashley gently lent down and placed a soft peck upon the Spectre's head, looking around once more to see if anyone was around to bear witness to her actions she smiled as she saw no one. As she turned back to the Commander once more Ashley lent in closer to the spectres ear.

"Good luck Skipper…" She whispered softly

She stood back from Shepard, as she glided her eyes over the skippers bed ridden body once more with a caring and concerned look held deeply within her deep coal coloured eyes. She stroked the Spectres forearm gently, smiling warmly before quickly retreating into the med bays lab.

* * *

As Dr. Chakwas turned her gaze back upon Liara she arched her finger motioning Liara to follow her into the med bay. As the door swished open granting the two women access, they entered the med bay in complete silence Liara had no idea what Chakwas was about to tell her, nor was she sure that she wanted to know. From the look upon the human doctors face anything that was about to come out of her mouth was going to be bad news.

Liara felt her stomach twist itself into knots as Chakwas led her over to her desk. Tears already began to prick at her eyes as she looked over to the spectres resting form. Liara began thinking about how she had never seen her so vulnerable, and how much she hated to see her commander completely surrounded by machines, the very things that had caused her to be in her current state. Tubes running in and out of her body, pumping in this and taking out that, she also hated to think about how much pain she must have been in. Even with all of the sedatives that were coursing through every vain, soothing her every nerve ending, it still wasn't enough as Liara scanned her eyes across Shepard's body noticing the pinched bridge of her nose and the slight furrow in her brow. Liara quickly darted her eyes away from the spectre, not being able to stand the sight of her love in pain, the pit in her stomach deepened as she just wished that there was something that she could do to take all of the pain away. But she knew there wasn't, not in the commanders current state anyway. Liara's thoughts were brought to a sudden halt has the doctor began her prognosis.

"Liara…" Chakwas spoke softly, searching wildly to find the right words. But instead of speaking she just handed the young asari yet another data pad. She began to scan over its contents hastily. Once she had taken in all that was in front of her she slammed her eyelids shut as she tried to prevent the tears from escaping. Unsuccessful in her attempts at not crying, a few stray icy cold tears began to slip away from her eyes, her shoulders suddenly slumped as she began to softly sob whilst still clutching onto the data pad as well as Chakwas's desk for dear life, she continued to sob quietly.

Chakwas quickly stepped out from behind her desk and darted around to the devastated asari, reaching her arm around to Liara's shuddering shoulder. She continued to squeeze the young asari into a tight embrace, comforting her as she let her tears fall freely.

"Liara… I'm… so sorry. No one had anyway to know this would happen…" Chakwas trailed off still holding Liara close to her as she rubbed her hand against the asari archaeologists back in an effort to comfort her.

"I knew… Goddess, I knew and I just… just let her do it. I… I should have stopped… her." Liara continued to cry as her body started to convulse with the sheer force of the emotions that were wreaking havoc within her body. Still clinging tightly onto Chakwas wishing that she was Shepard, but now with the newest blow to the spectres health, no one new if Shepard would ever be able to wake up again let alone hug Liara.

* * *

Ashley sat patiently as the blood flowed freely down the tube into the bag strapped to the side of her chair. Williams was starting to get bored and restless she had been sat down for 10 minutes. And she was itching to go back into the med bay to see how Shepard was doing.

As another medic entered the med bay lab Ashley caught a glimpse of the med bay. It was still empty save for Liara and Chakwas who was now cradling Liara in her arms. As Ashley saw the distressing sight she went to stand up before the medics' forceful hand guided her back down to the seat.

"Woaah!" The medic addressed her teasingly as she removed held hand firmly on Ashley's shoulder who was still staring blankly at the now closed med bay doors. "Slow it down there chief, you've just donated blood. When you do get up, do it slowly… and wait for me to remove the needle first." The medic spoke again with the same teasing tone she used before. But her humour was wasted on the chief who was raring to get into the med bay and see what was going on.

"Sorry…" Williams apologized half-heartedly as she still remained focused on the door.

"Just… slow it down a bit chief you'll cause yourself an injury." This time when the medic spoke she saw the look in Ashley's eyes, causing her to speak in a more sympathetic tone.

"Don't worry about me. What is going on out there?" Ashley said, in a half-question, half-order fashion.

"Ohh…" The medic began. Ash's eyes to snapped towards her angrily as her eyes demanded her to finish what she started, causing the medic to swallow the fear she felt building up in her windpipe. "Uhm… doctor patient confidentiality rules prevent me from telling you… But I'm sure if you ask Dr. Chakwas she will tell you. I hear you and Commander Shepard were… Ughm… are quite close, we you not?" The medic asked trying to cover up her error with a question. She was… Not successful.

With the needle taken from her arm, Williams was now free to move she decided not to heed to the medics warnings, jumping quickly to her feet she grabbed the medic by the scruff of the neck, slamming her with all of the strength that she could muster firmly against the wall. Luckily for both women and Shepard the medic hadn't yet unclipped the blood bag from the chair where Williams had been seated, if she had it would have more than likely ended up on the floor. The medic let out a yelp as Ashley's grip around her neck started to tighten. Ashley scowled at the medic before she asked the question that was playing upon her lips.

"What the hell do you mean by 'Were' friends!" Ashley spoke in an eerily quiet voice as she tried not to alarm the two women outside. Her grip tightened once more causing the medic to gasp loudly. "What did you mean!" Ashley couldn't keep her anger in check any longer as her voice rose in pitch "WHAT DO YOU MEAN!"

" I… I… can't… breathe!" The medic gasped before she finally fell into unconsciousness. Ashley dropped her to the floor. Unsatisfied Ashley walked over to the chair that she was sat at not two moments ago, unhooking the bag she darted out of the door slowing her pace down as she walked towards Chakwas and Liara who had now stopped crying and was wiping the teary residue from her face with a tissue that Chakwas had provided. Looking over to Shepard once more, pulling a concerned smile, she quickly averted her gaze from the broken spectre; swiftly spinning on her heels she turned to face Dr. Chakwas once more.

"Here you go doc." Ash passed the bag forward to Chakwas who in turn gave her a scrupulous look.

"Where's the medic? And why hasn't she come out of the lab yet?" Chakwas began to rattle off more and more questions surrounding the medic. Before Ashley was angry at what the medic had said and this anger justified her actions but now she just felt raging guilt fill her soul, as she flashed a quick glance toward the med lab door before turning back to Chakwas Ash's hands were now held up in a defensive posture.

"About that doc…" Ashley trailed off as she mentally began to choose her words wisely. "She said something that… Let's just say it didn't bode well with me and I kind of… Lashed out…" Ashley finished trailing off again; Chakwas gave her a deadly stare that frightened the crap out of her.

"Why did you do that Ashley?" Chakwas asked in a surprisingly calm tone of voice, scaring the young marine even more.

"She said… Uhm… She made it seem like…"She was struggling to find her voice, the lump in her throat had returned. Ashley didn't want to say anything in front of Liara in case it upset the asari maiden even more than she already was. Chakwas approached her; form was oddly relaxed as she felt the doctors hand rest upon back as she guided her to the med lab. As they entered the room Ashley looked down to see the still unconscious medic slumped against the wall, red fingernail tracks practically glowed on the young medics neck where Ashley had nearly strangled her. Guilt flooded Ashley's system once again as she tried to look everywhere and anywhere in the room other that at the young woman who she'd nearly killed.

Chakwas rested her hands on both of Ashley's shoulders as Ash reluctantly looked up to meet the doctors' pale green eyes, filled with sorrow and hurt. Ashley couldn't stand the waiting much longer and she finally spat out what she had wanted to ask since she floored the poor medic.

"Doctor Chakwas…? How is Shepard really doing? And don't give me that bull about her being five by five because I know here." Ashley motioned to her chest where her heart was. "That isn't really how she is. Is it?" Ash finished desperately trying to grapple with the situation.

"Ashley…" Chakwas began, with a tone that sounded like she was about to tell her the worst news that she could have ever heard. "She's… She's not well."

"I had figured as much." Ash said matter-of-factly. She began looking down to her feet as if the answers to all of Shepard's problems were written on them. "Exactly how 'not well' is she doc?" Ashley asked sincerely praying for a good answer that she knew was not coming.

"Very…" Chakwas's head fell and her shoulders slumped as she spoke. This was the first time Ashley had ever seen the doctor let her personal feelings get to her whilst she was on the job.

"Ah… I see." Ashley stated dejectedly. "What's wrong with her doc?" Chakwas let go of the death grip she had on Ashley's shoulders as she looked up, this time meeting Ashley's coal coloured eyes. Chakwas pulled out another data pad and handed to the chief, she looked exhausted already and she still needed to perform surgery on Shepard. As Ashley read through the doctors' notes a gleam of hope was introduced to her eyes as she looked back up at Chakwas.

"So your saying there's a possibility of her never waking up? So you're not certain that she won't come around again?" Ash asked hopefully.

"Read on chief." Chakwas spoke once again using her authoritative tone of voice. Ashley complied scrolling further and further down the pad until she hit the bottom.

"So?" Ashley spat, her hopefulness still shimmering within her eyes. "You still state that there's only a chance! And you know what Shepard's like! She never gives up without a good fight!" Ashley's hope was clouding her rationality. Although Chakwas couldn't deny that she was right, it still didn't help her as she pulled the young marine back down to earth.

"Williams… your being irrational. Even if she does wake up, there is still the possibility of brain damage. I'm sorry Ashley, me and my team will do as much as we can but we are not miracle workers…" Chakwas finished. Looking deep into Ashley's eyes she could still see hope just like she saw within Liara.

"Well, you're definitely the best doctor I've ever met and trust me I have met a lot of them. I trust you and your team doc and I know that you'll do everything in your power to help Shepard just like me and Liara too! So c'mon doc you've got a spectre to save." Ashley finished guiding the older human out of the lab in the exact same way Chakwas had brought her in.

* * *

Liara was now sat on a chair next to the commanders' bed. Her smaller blue fingers were intertwined with the larger, slightly bruised creamy-coloured flesh of Shepard's hand. Liara could sit there for hours just staring at Samantha's beautiful, albeit battered face. Liara's eye kept constant watch of the pinched bridge of the spectres nose, letting out a slightly shaky sigh she began to delicately rub the back of Samantha's hand with the pad of her thumb as she was subconsciously trying to ease the great pain that festered within Samantha's entire body. The constant slow and steady beat of the heart monitor kept Liara calm and centred as she refused to break down again. Not for her own sake but for that of those around her, but more importantly for Shepard.

Concerned ice blue eyes focused upon the deep gash that Samantha had on her forehead, spreading from the middle of her eyebrow down and ending just below her cheekbone, the laceration was bone deep and looked incredibly painful. Liara placed the pad of her thumb against Samantha's strong jawbone she also noticed that her jaw was clenched; pretty hard to, To Liara this was just another sign of the pain that was lancing through her loves body.

Liara was snapped out of her thoughts when the two human women came out of the lab walking briskly towards Shepard's bed. Dr. Chakwas stopped at her desk as she made a few calls on her comm unit, what or who Chakwas was calling was beyond Liara's knowledge. Liara looked up as Ashley approached the bed, resting her hand upon the young asari's shoulder motioning her to come over to Chakwas's desk so that the good doctor could explain to the both of them what was going to happen next.

"Ok you two." Chakwas said matter-of-factly, clasping her hands together. "We are going to get the team in now so that we can get Shepard fixed up once and for all. But unless you want to see all the blood and gore yourselves I'm going to have to ask you both to vacated the immediate area." She finished with a smile, a smile that finally conveyed hope and the promise of the Normandy SR1 getting her old CO back.

For a while Liara hesitated before planting a final delicate kiss upon the unscathed side of Shepard's brow. Whilst she was lent over she whispered something into Samantha's ear softly and quietly enough for no one but her and Shepard to hear.

"I will see you in a few hours. My love…" Kissing Samantha's forehead once more just as softly as the first time she began to walk towards the mess hall with Ashley beside her. Taking one last glance back at the sleeping form of the spectre, Liara smiled warmly as the doors whipped shut. As a large team of medics and surgeons exited the elevator and began to approach the med bay at quite a pace, zooming straight past Ashley and Liara.

Liara looked around the entire mess hall from the spot she was standing on only to be greeted by a sea of worried faces, both human and alien save for Tali but determining from her slumped posture and the way she was wringing her hands together, one could deduce that she was feeling anxious to. All of Shepard's ground team were sat down at the large table as well as a few others that Shepard had grown fond of. They all made sure to leave two seats spare at the table for the scientist and the marine. The whole table shifted in anticipation as Liara and Ashley took their seats.

"So?" Wrex quizzed just as the two women had got as comfortable as they could get under the circumstances. Garrus was the first to respond to Wrex's rather callous attitude towards their feelings, by introducing a stern elbow to Wrex's ribs.

"Give them a chance to sit Wrex." Engineer Adams whined from the far side of the table.

"Fine…" Wrex muttered under his breath leaning back into his chair, crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance.

After a long period of silence Wrex decided that the two women had been given enough time to settle in, before his distinctive voice rumbled out once more.

"So do you pair know anything or do we have to wait for the doctor to tell us what's up?" Wrex moaned, earning him more dirty looks from everyone around the table.

Ashley and Liara looked at one another trying to decide whether or not to tell the rest of the crew or just keep it between themselves. Finally after the tension on the table had grown to a breaking point Liara took lead of the situation and began to tell the others what Chakwas had previously told herself and Ashley. All of the faces around the table went from shock to concern back to shock and then straight to anticipation as they all waited in silence for any news on Shepard's progress.

After hours of silence that was occasionally broken by a few quiet mutterings from Wrex and Garrus, the med bay door whooshed open revealing a very bloodied Dr. Chakwas and for the first time in a long time she was actually smiling , causing every other face in the room to light up in anticipation. The first person to speak up was Pressly as the ships XO he was in command until relieved which wasn't going to be anytime soon given Shepard's previous condition.

"So Dr. Chakwas… I take it your endeavours were a success?" Pressly finished rather proudly as he turned to look around noticing that every single face in the room was plastered in a wide ear-to-ear grin. With the exception of Ashley and Liara who were stunned by the doctors revelation. After the way Chakwas had spoken about Shepard's chances before this was somewhat of a large turnaround.

In response to Pressly's question or rather statement, Chakwas simply nodded. But she didn't have to do much to covey the feeling of pride not only at her and her teams successful work with Shepard, but with Shepard herself for managing to pull through it and live to fight another day. Well… that was if Shepard ever woke up and if she didn't suffer any sort of brain damage from the over use of her biotics. But right now Chakwas and the team wanted to focus on the good rather than the what-ifs. Proudly Chakwas signalled for Liara to come over to her, Liara complied without hesitation only because she desperately wanted to see Shepard's face, pain free and relaxed.

Ashley remained seated knowing that if Chakwas had only motioned for Liara to come over than she needed to talk to her about something. As much as Ashley wanted to see her skipper healthy and well she knew not to stick her nose where it hurt so she stayed back waited with the rest of the crew.

* * *

"Thank you for following me in here. As happy as I am with the surgery I just wanted to call you in here so that you could be the first one to greet Sam… That is if she ever comes to." Liara winced at the thought of never seeing her love again, Chakwas took notice of Liara's reaction and decided to swiftly change the subject.

"If or when Shepard comes to she will more than likely be dazed and confused but hopefully that will clear up within a few days, she suffering severe case of concussion and she may also be in a lot of pain, if she is then I will be right here to help so don't worry about that. And hopefully after a week or so of getting her reacquainted with everything she should be back to her good, old self again." Liara smiled widely at the thought of getting her Samantha back, as did Dr. Chakwas but in retrospect not for the same reasons as Liara was. Chakwas excused herself to the mess hall, leaving Liara and Shepard alone.

"Welcome back, love." Liara whispered into Shepard's ear, planting a tender peck upon Shepard's cheek as her head was now awash with stiches and bandages. As she did before Samantha's surgery she intertwined their fingers gently brushing the pad of her thumb against Shepard's hand the other thumb making the movement upon the spectres uncovered temple. Liara smiled as she looked closely at Samantha's face noticing that the pinch on her nose had now faded and her jaw was no longer clenched.

Liara continued to admire the beautiful, athletic form of her love even if she was a bit battered and bruised she was still perfection to Liara. The one person that Liara had ever truly loved and will always love without a doubt Liara had found the other half of her soul, her forever, her Shepard, her love. She leaned forward once more placing a kiss upon her uncovered temple.

"I love you Samantha Shepard. And I always will." She smiled before placing a solid kiss upon the spectres lips.

* * *

Days passed aboard the Normandy, days eventually turned to weeks. Three weeks to be precise and still no sign of Shepard waking up. Some of the crew were beginning to worry but those closest to her i.e.: Liara, Ashley, Chakwas and all of the Normandy's ground team, Wrex included knew that any day now Shepard would wake up like nothing had ever happened to her. Little did any of them know that today was that day.

Liara kept a constant eye upon Shepard for 5 days, 5 days without sleep and very little food or drink. Ashley had taken it upon herself to give Liara some leave. Ashley would take over the watch at 0900 hours until Liara would take over a couple of hour later. Ash was sitting on the chair next to Shepard's bed with another chair supporting her legs. Ash didn't know what Liara was currently doing, sleeping most likely if she wasn't in her bunk then she was at Shepard's side. Ash was busy reading some of the doctors' latest readings from Shepard and nothing stood out to the chief but then again she wasn't a doctor. As Ash shuffled in her chair in an effort to get comfortable, but on these chairs her attempts would prove futile. Letting out a deep sigh she decided to sit up straight with both feet on the floor. She swore that she had heard another sigh but this one sounded pained. _**'Probably just Liara' **_she thought but when she heard the click of a bone, Ash looked over to see Shepard uncomfortably trying her hardest to push the blanket down that lay over her chest. Ashley was shocked to the core. _**'Shepard! Shepard is actually up and… awake!" **_She thought rather then said her mouth felt like it was full of cotton wool. Swallowing down the awe struck lump that had grown in her throat, she finally mustered up enough courage to greet the commander.

"Glad to see your back in the land of the living Commander." She whispered excitedly, trying not to wake Liara up as well.

"What…" Shepard spoke with a gravelly low pitched tone, but she was cut off by a rather large need breathe, due to her collapsed lung her chest was wheezing, quiet a lot, this startled the young marine into action.

"I'll get Chakwas!" Ash rushed out of the room desperately searching for the doctor. Finding her she ran towards her, grabbing a hold of her arm and pulling Chakwas away from her current conversation.

"What's going on chief?" Chakwas spoke with an air of irritability creeping into her voice "Has something happened to Shepard?" This time her tone however was filling with worry overriding the irritated tone from before.

"No… well yes… but it's a good thing… she's awake!" Ashley still couldn't believe the words that were tumbling from her mouth. "But her chest is making wheezing sounds and she doesn't look very comfortable." Williams squeezed Chakwas's bicep more in a rough attempt to get her to move quicker.

"Ok then let's get to the med bay!" Chakwas took quick strides towards the door and Ashley wasn't very far behind.

As they entered the med bay Shepard was now in a more natural state of sleep. Chakwas and Williams couldn't help but give one another a warm grin as they were both just thinking about how peaceful the spectre looked now that she was able to nod off on her bodies own terms.

"What do we do know?" Ashley asked. Still smiling Ashley placed a hand on her hip swinging the other out.

"We wake her up." Chakwas replied simply matter-of-factly. Ashley snapped her eyes back to the doctor with shock plastered over her face.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean she looks… so peaceful now it'd be a shame to cause her anymore pain…" Ash trailed off not quite grasping at what Chakwas was suggesting. Chakwas turned to the young marine placing both of her hands upon Ashley's shoulders before she began to explain the necessity of the task before them.

"Ashley… we need to wake her up so we can test her mental state. We don't yet know if her brain is still intact or if she is suffering from any sort of…" Chakwas paused for a brief moment, flicking through her mental thesaurus looking for a polite way to say what she was about to say. "Malfunction…" Chakwas spoke softly trying to make her final choice in words seem less threating than it really was. But see could still see the panic building behind Williams's coal coloured eyes.

"Ok…" Williams muttered more to herself than to Chakwas.

As they began to walk toward Shepard's bed something dawned of Dr. Chakwas that she immediately needed to handle before they handled anything else.

"Uhmm… Ashley. Aren't we forgetting someone?" Chakwas asked in a teasing manner. Ashley looked around confused at what was being asked.

"I'm not sure I follow doc?" Ashley spoke with a smile on her face but she had no idea why it was there.

"Dr. T'soni." Chakwas also spoke through a rather large grin although she was aware why she was doing it.

"Oh crap! Right she completely slipped my mind! You don't think she'll be mad do you?" Ashley winced at the thought of being biotically thrown across the room for forgetting to announce their commanders awakening sooner. This caused Chakwas to burst into a fit of laughter Ashley quickly followed suit grasping her ribs to quell the pain from the laughter. Eventually both women calmed down but the grins remained on both of their faced as Chakwas meandered over to the med lab door.

The med lab doors whipped open revealing the sleeping form of the young asari bent over her extranet terminal quietly snoozing. Liara didn't hear Chakwas enter the room and the doctor couldn't help but smile warmly like she had when she saw Shepard sleeping peacefully earlier on. Dr. Chakwas approached Liara, gently placing her hand upon the sleeping asari's shoulder, Liara slowly raised her head to see who was touching her, shaking the sleepy daze from her head first she turned to notice that Chakwas was standing behind her with a warm smile pasted across her face Liara mimicked the smile before standing up so she was now eye-to-eye with the human doctor. Liara's mind suddenly began to jump to conclusions about Chakwas's presence in the med lab.

"Is something wrong with Shepard? Is she awake? Can I see her?" Liara quizzed. Chakwas kept the warm smile upon her face as Liara rattled out more questions than were worth answering.

"One of those assumptions is correct, and as you can probably see by the look upon my face it isn't a bad one. Shepard is awake." Chakwas finished her smile grew wider as Liara grabbed the doctor and pulled her into a bear hug before the human could react, Chakwas let out a small chuckle as Liar darted past her running with all she was worth into the med bay.

As Chakwas slowly paced back into the med bay she looked up to see Liara with one arm folded with the other arm resting on top of it as she stroked her chin, now Liara was the one with a warm smile upon her face as her gaze was directed at the sleeping form of the spectre.

"I thought that you had said she was awake?" Liara asked teasingly as her eyes slowly drifted from Chakwas back to Samantha.

"Well… she was for about… 3 minutes until she then fell into a natural sleep." Chakwas said through stifled laughter as she looked up to Williams who was also trying to keep a hold of her laughter. "But unfortunately, we can't stand here staring at that sweet face all day." Chakwas teased as Ashley and Liara let out a knowing laugh as they both continued to look at their sleeping commander. Chakwas approached Shepard's bed with a data pad in-hand and an omni-tool scanning over the spectres entire body. A worried expression now plagued Liara's face as she realised what Dr. Chakwas was about to do.

"Are you going waking her up?" Liara half asked and half stated as she continued to watch Chakwas's every movement.

"Yes." Chakwas simply stated. Causing Liara to gently slip her hand into Shepard's still with one arm folded but her expression remaining that of severe concern and worry for her loves health.

Chakwas carefully placed hand upon the uninjured bicep of the spectre and gently began to shake her awake. A course, pained groan emerged from Shepard mouth as she cracked her bruised eyelid open in an effort to see what was going on and why she was shaking slightly.

"Arggh…" Shepard groaned as she attempted to sit up only to be softly guided back down to her bed by Chakwas and the other two women. "What the hell is going on?" Shepard spat.

"Ah, we definitely have Shepard back then…" Chakwas teased, causing Ashley to chuckle and Liara to smile warmly as she gently caressed Shepard's forearm.

"Why am I in here doc? And why does my foot hurt?" Shepard complained staring at Chakwas through on eye. The other eye having been covered up with bandages along with most of the right hand side of her face.

Chakwas smiled incredulously at the spectres notion "Out of all the injuries you sustained during the 'Battle of the Citadel' you decide to blame a fractured toe as your main source of discomfort… you Shepard are utterly unbelievable." Chakwas smiled to herself as she looked back down at her data pad to run more numbers. Liara and Ashley let out small chuckles as Shepard pulled a confused face.

Shepard cleared her throat before speaking once more. "Um… doc, Battle of the Citadel? What the gods name are you talking about?" The three women looked up at each other with shocked faces before Chakwas began to speak.

"You and Saren fought against one another for control over the Citadels systems to stop the reapers from flooding in from dark space and destroying all organic life in the galaxy… ringing any bells?" Chakwas asked franticly trying to get Shepard to with a reply 'yes.'

"No… can't say it does doc. That all sounds a bit far-fetched to me." Shepard said with a sigh.

"Oh god…" Ashley muttered under her breath as it dawned on her something was seriously wrong if the skipper had forgotten all of that. Liara swiftly took her hand from Shepard's clutch as she rested her face in both of her palms.

"Shepard…" Chakwas spoke softly almost motherly towards the spectre. "All of that DID happen you WERE severely injured whilst fighting against Saren who had been re-animated by Sovereigns implants causing him to then attack you and your team whilst outside the Citadel above the presidium the Normandy fought against Sovereign, Sarens flagship dreadnaught as well as the whole of the Arcturus fleet who were doing so under your command. Also under your command we managed to save the Destiny Ascension and all of its passengers from certain death, Shepard… you saved the universe and you don't remember that?"

"Guess not…" Shepard shook her head as she tried to understand what Dr. Chakwas was babbling on about.

"You save us all especially Ashley and Liara." Chakwas was practically pleading Shepard's memory to force something forward.

"Saved them from what!" Shepard was starting to get frustrated with all that was being said. The heart monitors began to chirp rapidly the more Chakwas spoke, so with the little information the doctor had extracted from Shepard she motioned Liara and Ashley to follow her into the med lab but Liara was reluctant to leave the angry spectre on her own for fear that she may do herself some harm. After a few seconds of frantic thought, Liara decided to follow if anyone would know anything it would be Chakwas.

"So doc what's up with the commander?" Ashley began, still feeling slightly dazed from what Shepard had said and how she'd reacted to what Dr. Chakwas had told her.

"I really don't know. But I have a few theories that I may need to test, but that would require Shepard's co-operation and by the looks of it that won't be easy to obtain…" Chakwas trailed off as she peeked around the door frame to see a rather i-rate spectre.

"Well doc, it can't be easy being told that you've done so much to help everybody and then too not have any memory of doing so…" Ash stated as she felt a great deal of sympathy for Shepard. Liara remained as quiet as a mouse thinking back to what she had said to Shepard during the battle and the fact that she wouldn't remember it at all. Liara's heart sank in her chest as she thought about how close she was to becoming something more to Shepard rather than just another crew member. Liara let out a quiet sigh as she began focus on what Dr. Chakwas was saying.

"So what are these 'theories' then doc?" Ashley asked whilst trying to wrap her head around everything that had evolved in the past hour.

"Well, it could just be a simply case of post-traumatic Amnesia in which case depending upon the severity could last from a single day or maybe weeks after. But as bad as that may sound that is probably our best hope, at least she may, over time gain some or all of her memories back but then again she may not it really depends upon the severity of the case and what caused it. But saying that there is also the strong possibility that when she used her biotic abilities to shield us from the debris she caused her implant to flare up causing some damage to the hippocampus area of the brain causing what we are seeing in her now. But in order to get any sort of a grasp on the situation as I said before I will need to run tests and ask Shepard a lot of questions pertaining to her memories and so on so I should get started on that as soon as possible to avoid any more discomfort to Shepard." And with that Chakwas left the lab and began the long and arduous process of helping someone to remember.

"Ah well that sucks!" Ashley exclaimed as she kicked a storage crate. "I can't imagine anything would be able to-" As Ashley turned around to tell Liara the rest of her sentence only to discover the young asari wasn't behind her anymore. Ash poked her head out over the edge of the door to see if Liara was out in the med bay and to her comfort she was, and she was sitting rather cosily having a rather animated conversation. From Ashley's distance, she couldn't hear what they were talking about but she could tell by the smiles on both of the women's faces that it wasn't a bad one by any means.

* * *

2 minutes earlier: 

Ashley was prattling on about something that Liara had no interest in hearing so in a spur of the moment move Liara hoped off of the storage crate that was conveniently set back behind Ashley so leaving quickly wouldn't alarm her to Liara's missing presence. Liara just needed to get back into the med bay so that she could talk to Shepard herself. Over the Days, weeks, months, Liara and Shepard had grown close as friends discussing the protheans and their lives before they left home to pursue their chosen careers. Shepard never failed to make Liara laugh with stories about her rebellious childhood aboard the Einstein. Liara loved to hear about Shepard's past and what made her into the hero and the saviour that she was today, but Shepard didn't begrudge Liara her time to talk either. Shepard also liked to hear about what Liara was like as a kid growing up on Thessia what made her turn to archaeology instead of taking one of the more… practical and common routes that asari maidens take, Shepard loved how Liara was brave enough to rebel against matriarch Benezia, one of the most revered, powerful and respected asari's around. Shepard also loved the way that Liara would get that little glint in her eye as she would begin talking about the Protheans and how they inspired her, Liara would become very passionate and animated during their 'little' chats that could often last 2 – 3 hours into the wee hours of the night.

As Liara fled from the lab the headed straight towards Shepard, who was now playing with a stress ball that Chakwas had handed to her to quell Shepard's boredom. Liara approached Shepard who must have hear her footsteps because she was now looking directly at her with her piercing olive-green eyes, as her hands continued to study the ball that she had been given. Shepard's piercing gaze knocked Liara slightly of balance a she began to sit herself down on one of the chairs closest to Shepard's bed exchanging quick glances Shepard piped up, her voice was still gravelly but it had improved since the last time Liara had heard it, noticing the tumbler of water on the side table by Shepard's bed Liara now knew why it had cleared up a bit.

"How's are you Liara?" Shepard exclaimed happily as Liara got comfortable in her seat. Liara surmised that Shepard was just happy to speak to someone different after doctor Chakwas had been spending so much time running tests upon her and asking so many questions, Liara just wanted to reach out and pull Shepard into a tight embrace, she was so brave and strong on the battlefield but now what with the current revelations surrounding her memories and health in general she just looked so vulnerable and fragile. Liara knew she would never actually hug Shepard right now in her current state, what with her shoulder, arm and ribs being broken she would end up doing more harm than good. Liara was snapped out of her thoughts by the delicate pitter-patter of Shepard's long fingers still examining the stress ball for anything of interest. Liara couldn't help but smile warmly at Shepard's studious gaze upon the ball.

"I'm fine actually Commander, thanks to you... If it was not for you I and Gunnery chief Williams and the vast majority of the crew including Dr. Chakwas would most certainly be dead right now… Thank you very much commander Shepard."

"Please Liara… my names Samantha but you can call me Sam. And I'll remember that the next time she attempts to me stick with yet another needle." Liara smiled and giggled at the joke but also at the fact that during one of their last little chats Sam had said the exact same thing to her. Looking up at her beautiful face now Liara could even see the exact same smile across Sam's mouth that she had shown last time Shepard had told her to call her Sam. It was a breath-taking smile that Liara adored greatly and had never seen Shepard smile this way to anyone other than Liara herself, Liara felt almost privileged to have that smile all to herself.

"Ok… Sam." Liara rolled the name around her tongue just like she had the last time. Liara couldn't believe it that all of those times that she had wished that she could have relived those moments with Shepard and know at this very moment that's exactly what she could do. "So Sam I understand that you grew up on the Einstein, life aboard a ship cannot have been easy. Did you enjoy it?" Liara asked getting straight into the swing of things. Sam flashed her a quick smile, her pearly white teeth shining wonderfully under the now bright med bay lights, before beginning her story.

"Yeah of course it was awesome living on the Einstein it was huge and there were so many places to go, dangerous for a little kid but heaven for a teenager. I remember when I was about… 16, me and a few friends were supposed to be in the education sector or school most called it aboard the ship and our first study session was physics which was always my worst subject I just couldn't get the hang of all the different ratios and masses and so on, so anyway me and a bunch of other decided to skip school, only for an hour or so until physics was over and then we would go back in. So the small group of us hid around the back of the physical education block. Ughm that's where the pupils would go to do phys-ed which was just taking part in various sports and exercises, so anyway yeah we hid around the back around the back of there and there was this teacher who was the most strict teacher in the whole of the school, and unluckily for us he would patrol around the phys-ed block all the time but back then we didn't know that, so while we were busy playing some skyllian five, which I was winning by way. This teacher Mr. Jefferson his name was, anyway he came walking around checking his usual parameter and of course that's where we were all hiding out so out he ran shouting at the top of his voice about rules and regulations but my being the fastest runner in my class and also at the time I had my youth on my side to with that I was quickly able to out run him but in the fun of it all I must have gotten carried away and ended running to the ships engineering deck. I had no idea how I got there but that wasn't the worst of my issues for very long. Completely out of the blue, I felt this hand grab me by the scruff of the neck and roughly turn me around, and to my horror it was my dad and he was not happy. He marched me straight home to my mom who was just as angry, they made me go to my room for… hours I was just sat here doing nothing then eventually the door swished open and my dad came in but this time he had this really smug look on his face as he slowly paced towards me, I think it was his little way of making me nervous, and then he gently rested his hand on my shoulder and said "I've arranged with the dean for you to come to work with me for a few weeks." And then as quietly as he came in he just walked away without another word.

"Did you enjoy working alongside your father?" Liara asked utterly drawn into every word that fell from Shepard's lips.

"No. They were the worst few weeks of my life. As much as I love my dad I didn't like that I have… no idea how Tali and Adams and everyone else does it, not that I don't appreciate their efforts but I… I just couldn't stand it. But that was most probably why dad did it." Shepard finished with the same breath-taking grin upon her face as before she began her story, Liara was overwhelmed by Shepard's presence her eyes piercing her very soul, her voice caressing Liara's ears. It was magical.

"Anyways I've said enough about me. Tell me something I don't already know about Dr. T'soni?" Liara blushed slightly and grinned, she loved the way that Shepard could just slip her job title into sentences.

"Well… I'm not that interesting." Liara teased as she saw Shepard grin at her sentiment.

"Aww, come on! A gorgeous young woman like yourself must have something to tell." Shepard replied coyly grinning once again. This time Shepard's words caused Liara's blush to grow but Liara managed to quell the blush before it bloomed upon her cheeks and chuckled slightly.

"Thank you for your kind words Samantha." The name drifted out of Liara's mouth like silk sheets in a cool summer's breeze.

There chat was however interrupted once Ashley entered the room and not long after her Chakwas strolled back in as if she were on a mission. Data pad in hand she approached the three women and began typing away at its keys before the took a glance up at Shepard who was now sat upright position after some fiddling with the bed settings Chakwas got her sat the way she was most comfortable.

"Shepard. I would like to keep you in for a week or so to evaluate your condition, after that I'm going to put you on bed rest for another 3 weeks and then light duty for however long I deem necessary after I've given you another once over. Is that ok with you Shepard?" It wasn't really a question, more of a statement but Chakwas enjoyed ordering Shepard around somewhat it was a perk of the job.

"Mmm, I suppose it will have to be. Won't it doctor..." Chakwas let out a bark of laughter she really did enjoy to press the spectres buttons.

"Yes it will." Chakwas managed through stifled laughter as she looked up to Shepard who was now smirking to herself with crossed arms. "Sulking now are we Shepard?" Shepard's grin blossomed into a full smile now as Liara and Ashley began to chuckle to.

"Mm-Hm." Was the only reply the spectre could force out, behind all of the joking and laughter she was irritated if there was one thing she hated more it was wasting time and with the reapers still out in dark space who knew how long they had before they came in for the real attack.

Chakwas continued to smile as did the other two women beside the spectre.

"Also I have some of your test results here for you quite interesting if I say so myself." Chakwas conceded as she passed Liara the data pad.

"Oh…" Liara exclaimed as she looked up at Shepard her eyes immediately darting back to the data in front of her. "This is odd." She finished.

* * *

A/N: Again guys sorry about the long chapter unless your into longer chapters in that case let me know, I think that the story is better the longer the chapters and the story as a whole are, and I plan on this story lasting quite some time. Any who thanks for any reviews good or bad (It helps me improve either way) and sorry about any grammar issues or spelling/punctuation mistakes this story hasn't been beta proofed. Thanks again to all of my readers you guys' rock! Peewit22.


	3. Pleasure and Memories

**Mass Effect: An Epic Tale. Chapter 3**

Peewit22

A/N: Just a special shout out to Kachie Takahashi for being a super awesome fan, you rule by the way! And thank you to all of those people out there that have read my work so far and have enjoyed it! And also thank you to those of you cool folks out there who added me to your Favourite stories and author alerts, thank you so much guys. Please R&R guys it really helps good or bad… Well then, well then, let's get this underway then shall we.

P.S: Before you start you should really know that my Shepard's bangs are based upon that of Elliot Reid's after she has a makeover on Scrubs, (S3, E1.) Except Shepard's hair is black and not blonde.

P.P.S: The following story contains a lot of fluff, you know sweetness, rainbows, puppies that sort of stuff so avert your eyes if you hate that kind of thing any who... Laters!

Disclaimer: I would just like to say as much as I wish I did, I do not anything. Enjoy peeps!

* * *

"This is quiet extraordinary…" Liara muttered as her eyes continued to dart from Shepard to the data pad and then back up to Chakwas. "How is this even possible for a human?" She asked her voice dripping with barely contained awe.

"Those were my thoughts exactly Dr. T'soni, I had trouble absorbing this latest development myself." Chakwas very lightly took hold of the top of the data pad pulling Liara towards her so that they could both see the discoveries hastily scrawled down upon the dim orange data pad.

"Uhm…" Shepard began clearing her throat whilst keeping her gaze sternly fixed upon the two doctors at the end of her bed. "Don't you two think that I should know about the stuff in that data pad to?" Shepard finished sarcastically, prompting Liara to return her gaze to Shepard whilst managing a stern, concerned yet warm smirk in Sam's direction. "What?" Shepard asked the asari scientist teasingly causing Liara to smile even more warmly toward her. "Don't hold any precious info away from me just because I'm a cripple!" Sam continued to joke provoking Williams, Liara and Chakwas to break into a fit of laughter and also prompting a soft slap upon the leg from Liara, which coincidently caused Shepard to laugh too.

Liara stepped away from Chakwas with the data pad as she slowly made her way to Shepard's side in order to give her a chance to take in the new information. The young asari positioned herself directly at Sam's left which happened to be her bad side with the broken shoulder and arm but Shepard's right side fared just as badly with the breakages to all of her fingers, this meant Liara would have to hold the pad up for Sam to read and Liara did so gladly as she raised the data pad in front of Shepard with both hands Shepard took advantage of Liara current position and gently rested her chin upon Liara's forearm causing Liara to blush and smile widely all at once Shepard just grinned her usual breath-taking grin. The sight of the shameless flirting caused Ashley and Dr. Chakwas to slyly smile at one another. They all knew what Shepard was like and honestly Dr. Chakwas would have been worried if Shepard wouldn't have done something of the sort.

Halfway through perusing the contents of the data pad, Shepard suddenly recoiled to the news that she had just read.

"What? So you are saying that I possess the ability to use my biotics without my implant?" Shepard asked. Unsure of weather she had read the data correctly and if she should consider this revelation good or bad, she went with good until proven otherwise. Shepard then rested her chin back upon the young asari archaeologist's arm with a sly grin of her own as she locked eyes with Liara before she began reading once more but her mind was distracted by the sheer beauty of Liara and her eyes.

'_**Wow I can honestly say that Liara is the most beautiful woman that I've ever seen in my entire life…' **_Shepard thought to herself as her mind began to argue amongst itself, still not taking in any of the information that she was "reading."

'_**Sam you tool! READ!' **_Shepard mentally bitch-slapped herself for getting too carried away with her train of thought.

Shepard smiled inwardly at her inner self and its antics, before she picked up her last sentence and began reading as quickly as she could in order to cover up for her previous brain wave.

"Bluntly put Shepard, but yes you are correct. If you would have finished reading before getting carried away in your own thoughts." Chakwas looked at her teasingly as Shepard opened her mouth imitating a shocked expression before resting her forehead against Liara's forearm yet again causing T'soni to blush slightly before running into her own inner monologue.

'_**For a soldier Shepard has such smooth skin and her breath is very warm against my arm… hmm that's… enjoyable.' **_Liara closed her eyes as she imagined what that warm sweet breath would feel like against other parts of her body.

'_**LIARA! Stop it! You're a grown up for goddesses sake! Keep it together!' **_Liara shouted to her mind.

Liara was brought back to reality as she heard a faint snoring sound as she noticed the weight of Sam's head against her arm had considerably grown. On further inspection the three women quickly began to realize that the obviously very exhausted spectre had fallen asleep against Liara's arm, realising this was the case Chakwas began to chuckle softly as she patted Ashley's leg hinting at her to look.

"Aww…" Ashley whispered as her smile grew when she noticed how cute Shepard looked asleep.

"Yes Williams, she does look rather peaceful doesn't she." Chakwas matched Ashley's whisper so as not to disrupt to slumbering spectre in front of them. Ashley looked up to Liara to see why she was being as quite as Shepard was, much to Ashley and Chakwas' surprise Liara was now seated and had also fallen asleep.

Ashley had left the room about half an hour ago and still the pair was still happily dozing away, but Chakwas was roused from her studies of Shepard's stats when she heard movement coming from Shepard's general vicinity as Chakwas raised her head from the stacked data pads that were strewn about her desk she caught a glimpse of a very sweet and tender sight as Liara had now moved in her sleep so that her head was now resting on Shepard's bed and their fingers were now intertwined and yet both parties or so Chakwas assumed anyway would have no knowledge of how they ended up like that.

"Ah, Shepard did always have a lot of fans." Chakwas muttered to herself as she was reminded of an encounter that the commander had faced once whilst the Normandy had docked at the Citadel to get updates on their systems and have them checked.

* * *

1 year ago: 

"Whilst we are docked on the Citadel I expect you all to behave like mature adults. And that goes for you to Commander Shepard." Captain Anderson finished with a rare chuckle in his voice as he pointed to the large crowd in the middle of the mess hall in which Shepard had come to call 'Shore leave drinking buddies.'

The entire crowd burst out in cheers and laughter as each of them patted a rather amused Shepard on the back, as Shepard prepared to retaliate to Anderson's rather earnest speech.

"Hey Captain!" Shepard teasingly shouted from the crowd. "What about you? Last shore leave saw you telling us all about how much you loved to visit Sha'iras!" Shepard grinned knowingly at Anderson as he burst into laughter as did the rest of the mess halls occupants.

"You've got me there Shepard!" He retorted as he walked over to Shepard giving her a friendly pat upon the back and continued his way to the med lab.

Anderson always used to say that during shore leave he would strip himself of all authority so that the crew could relax around him and speak to him as if he were just another colleague. Shepard had also adapted this technique into her run aboard the Normandy she thought that all of her crew were great and found it refreshing when they all just acted like themselves around her as opposed to being stern, military types all the while.

Shepard was once again patted on the back by someone and quickly turned around to greet them.

"Well hey there Shep!" The young woman spoke soft, hushed tone but Shepard could sense the barely contained excitement that laced her voice. Question was why was it there?

"Oh… Hey Dr. Carter! What's up?" Shepard asked to the young woman but still kept her eye fixed upon the data pad that she had clasped in her hand.

"Not much. What about you Shep?"

"Same here, just trying to get the last of this data punched in before me and some of the others head out tonight."

"Sounds like tricky work Shep. Need any help?" The young woman scooted around so that she was very close to Shepard's side in order to get a closer look at the data pads contents causing Shepard to get slightly nervous.

"Oh… Uhm… no thanks Dr. Carter I appreciate the offer but I'll be finished soon." Shepard was starting to trip up on her words as she tried her hardest to stay focused upon the task at hand, which with every passing second was getting harder and harder to do.

"Sheppy…" The woman spoke almost seductively as she inched closer to Shepard's ear, her warm, sweet breath tickling against Shepard's neck. Even more softly she placed one had upon Shepard's shoulder and the other upon her forearm. "Why don't you just call me Jess?" She finished. If Shepard didn't know any better she would have thought that Jess was coming on to her.

"Uhm… Ok." Shepard was getting rather flustered by this point and was feeling rather confused. "Jess…" Shepard rolled the name around her tongue and which gained her a very pleased smile from Jess.

"See you at 7:00?" Jess asked as she teasingly poked Shepard on the chest and began to walk away.

"So I gather from that snippet of information that you're coming out too then?"

Jess turned around and sauntered back towards Shepard swaying her hips ever so slightly. "Yes I am, and I would very much like to see you there too." Jess arched an eyebrow and smirked as she lifted her hand and traced along Shepard's strong jaw with her index finger.

Shepard raised a wrist and checked her imaginary watch teasingly as her eyes met up with that of Jess's "7:00 it is then boss." Shepard joked as Jess dropped her hand back to her side and smiled seductively at Shepard who was now grinning roguishly.

"Hmm… Yes that's an order Shepard." She finished once again softly poking Shepard in the chest keeping her smile firmly on her face.

"You are aware that I am above you… just so you know." Shepard teased and grinned roguishly yet again in an attempt to actually get Jess to laugh and not just grin, but she was unsuccessful as she had the tables turned back around on her once more, as Jess leaned in towards Shepard's ear once more.

"You maybe now… but you won't be tonight." Jess whispered so that only Shepard could hear. As she pulled away she ran her index finger down from Shepard's shoulder across her bicep and down her forearm finally stopping upon the back of Shepard's hand causing Shepard's breath to hitch in her throat as her eyes focused on the finger softly resting against her hand.

Slowly yet confidently Jess pulled away from Shepard for the final time and began to walk away. Shepard remained standing ramrod straight at her usual height of 6ft but her eyes remained solely upon Jess who had once again began to saunter away swaying her hips sensually as she turned to head up the staircase she winked at Shepard prompting another roguish grin to appear on Shepard's face, as Jess continued up the stairs with her own smile in tow.

"Well, well, well Shepard… you and Jess eh?" Jack another one of Shepard's crewmates joked approaching her and nudging her in the ribs "I would have gone for her myself but… I think that she only digs chicks!" Jack teased as he grabbed Shepard's shoulder pulling her over to the large table in the centre of the room where the rest of the group were now sitting.

"It's either that Jack or she just doesn't like you." Shepard retorted with the very same grin still plastered upon her face, the entire table burst into laughter as Jack playfully punched Shepard in the arm initiating Shepard to pull him into a head lock and giving him a noogie. The two marines fought playfully as the others chanted as to who they would think should win.

"What in god's name is going on out here?" Chakwas was asked teasingly as she sat down on the edge of the table. Both Shepard and Jack had stopped wrestling as soon as they realized that it was Chakwas who was talking, and they had both taken to their own seats and meals. Quiet chatter surrounded the table as everyone began to eat. Shepard still encapsulated in conversation with Jack and some other marines that Chakwas couldn't remember the names of. Chakwas thought it would be a good time to share some very interesting scuttlebutt that had passed through the Normandy not so long ago.

"Shepard you and Jess what is going on there?" Chakwas mocked as a devilish smirk crept across her lips. Shepard was quickly snapped out of any previous conversation as her jaw went slack at the revelation of how quickly news spread aboard the Normandy SR1.

"How is it that everyone around here knows more about my business then I do? And anyway doc how'd you find out?" Shepard quizzed as the table roared with laughter at the latest discovery.

"Shepard, Shepard, Shepard… Jessica is my protégé how could I not know what that girl is thinking!" Chakwas stated sarcastically as she continued to stare knowingly towards Shepard. "She constantly asks about you, she always stares at you when you are around and when you not around there is no doubt in my mind that she is wishing that she is always thinking about you. If I did know any better I would say that she is more likely than not, infatuated with you." Chakwas finished smugly with the same devilish smirk playing upon her features.

As pleased with the revelation as she was Shepard still kept her calm exterior up as she finished her breakfast and proceeded to pick up her juice and taking a small sip.

"I may even push as far to say she is in love with you." Chakwas added rather quietly but still loud enough for Shepard and the other crew mates to hear as almost half of the table began to choke on the contents within their mouths. Shepard included.

"What!" Jack spat as he was the first to recover from choking down his food. "What makes you say that doc?" Jacks eyes darted from Chakwas to Shepard and back again.

"As I said before I think the only things that she has stored in her brain is her medicinal knowledge and well… Shepard!" Chakwas pointed her hand quickly in Shepard's direction causing Shepard to attempt to hide behind her carton of juice teasingly.

"Like you said before doc, maybe it's just infatuation! I wouldn't go so far to call it love they hardly know one another… right?" Jack stated matter-of-factly turning to Shepard searching for an answer to his previous question. Shepard shrugged her shoulders in confusion causing Jack to let out a rather ragged breath that he wasn't aware that he was holding in.

"Anyway Jack, why are you getting all flustered about it? What aren't you telling us?" A young male marine asked from the far side of the table next to Chakwas. Chakwas nodded in agreement with his question.

"What! I'm not hiding anything!" Jack stated rather quickly, he began to take and unhealthy interest in the tray of food before him, resting his forehead in the palm of his hand.

"Anyway guys!" Shepard finally spoke up as she began to rise up from her seat stretching her arms as she did so. "I've got things to be attending to so if you'll excuse me." Shepard picked up the tray and took it over the kitchen area, she tipped any food residue into the trash canister before sliding her tray into its cleaning compartment. Shepard walked back over to the table and gently placed her hand upon his shoulder, Jack craned his neck to his relief it was only Shepard. "Are you coming Jack?" Shepard said quietly as her hand slid off Jacks shoulder.

"Sure thing Shep I'll just clean my tray and I will be right with you." Jack nodded to the other occupants of the dining table before placing his own tray into its cleaning compartment, and following Shepard to the elevator.

Shepard punched the elevator panel, they were heading to the engineering deck to clean their weapons so that they could be ready for combat at a moment's notice. The elevator doors were seconds from closing when a stern hand reached around stopping it in its tracks causing it to open once more.

"Hey doc!" Both Jack and Shepard simultaneously causing them both to chortle and also causing Chakwas to grin as she turned her back on Shepard and Jack to face the door of the elevator. The elevator slowly descended to engineering and all three of them stepped out of the elevator, before it struck Shepard _**'what is Chakwas doing down here? She never comes down to here.'**_ Shepard thought to herself, from the look upon Jacks face it would seem he was thinking the same thing too.

"Uhm… Doctor? If you don't mind me asking, how come you are down here? I thought you hated engineering." Shepard asked politely as Jack nodded his head in agreement with Shepard's query.

"What am I doing down here? Well I have to go and check on Pressly… chicken pox you see."

"Isn't he up in the CIC… well that's where he is supposed to be anyway." Shepard added thoughtfully.

"No." Chakwas said simply "I told him to rest up and seeing as he wasn't in the CIC when I checked I can only assume he trekked down here to visit his 'BFF' engineer Adams." Chakwas chuckled as she lowered her air quotations.

"Ah, I see. Well tell him I said get well soon then will you." Shepard said half – heartedly as she and Jack walked over to the desk at the far side, corner of the room.

"So Jack? Have a little crush on Jess do you?" Shepard teased as she and Jack opened their lockers in sync both taking out their weapons and armour for cleaning. Shepard slid across to a small open crate just underneath Jacks locker pulling out some gun polish and a small square rag cloth. As Shepard proceeded to stand straight she brushed forearms softly with Jack who grinned shyly at the accidental touch of skin, Shepard quickly followed suit with her own roguish smile.

Once Shepard and Jack were settled upon their station Jack cleared his throat and began to speak answering Shepard's earlier question. "No of course not. Why would you even think that?" Jack asked calmly. As embarrassed as he was he still knew how to act.

"So what was with that little display back there then?"

"Nothing, it's just… nah, it was nothing is all I don't know what came over me. I apologize." Jack replied whilst remaining completely focused upon cleaning the barrel of his pistol. Suddenly he felt the fabric rag slip out from between his fingers as he looked over to Shepard who was now standing in her typical 'arms-crossed-over-chest' position with the oily rag dangling from her long fingers as she perked up one of her eyebrows, which usually meant that she knew you were not telling the truth.

"Fine…" Jack sighed as he plopped down onto the crate behind him like a sack of potatoes, motioning for Shepard to sit upon the opposite crate. "I do like somebody… but that somebody isn't Jess. Its-"

"Commander?" Jokers' voice crackled and fizzed into action all around the empty engineering deck "ETA to the Citadel is 30 minutes, Joker out."

"Ok so as I was saying-"

"Sorry Jack but I need to go upstairs to get ready and stuff… is it ok if we continue with this chat later?" Shepard asked rhetorically. By the time Jack had opened his mouth to answer Shepard was already in the lift punching in the command to go up.

Jack picked up both of their weapons and began to neatly put them away into his and Shepard's lockers. As he was doing so he looked up and caught his reflection on Shepard's lockers shiny surface, letting out a heavy sigh gently runny his fingers through his short and soft, jet black faux hawk.

"Maybe next time stud…" Jack teased himself, letting out another large sigh scraping his long, calloused tanned fingers along his chiselled, jet black stubble covered chin. He continued to walk towards the elevator himself he still had to dress into something half decent and there was still room for him to try and impress the 'Lucky' lady.

* * *

A large group formed in the middle of the CIC everybody was now dressed into their casuals… well almost everybody Joker sometimes struggled to change his clothes so he found it easier to just stay as he was.

"Ready everyone?" Shepard stated as she walked into the CIC. Heads turned towards Shepard and not just because she was one of the major authority figures in the room, but because… well she was hot and everyone knew it man and women alike, the only person who didn't really grasp her hotness was Shepard herself. It had to be said that Shepard was a nerdy kind of hot but that was who she was she could be a classical beauty kind of hot if she wanted to be but she preferred the nerd-like look and my god did she pull it off. Even Joker was sweating under the collar.

Shepard wore a Baggy red and black plaid shirt with a dark pair of stone-washed skinny jeans and a set of black and red hi-tops that rested over the top of her jeans. Her jet black bangs were looking softer than ever and still managed to retain the perfect amount of volume. She looked stunning as per usual.

As the crowd began to flow forward towards the airlock Shepard waited behind so she could follow up the rear of the large group. A familiar swishing sound came from one of the doors behind her as she turned she was shocked to see what she saw.

"Jack! Wow… you look… Amazing!" Shepard stuttered as she looked at the man only 2 inches taller than herself. "Who knew that you scrubbed up so well!" Shepard teased as she linked her thinner forearm around Jacks muscular bicep.

Jack was wearing a black suit jacket over a white shirt with a thin black tie neatly running down from his shirts collar, he was also wearing tight but still somehow baggy black dress slacks finished with a matte black leather dress shoes. His hair was still in its faux hawk style and his fashionable stubble still in place. He looked equally as handsome.

"Yeah… gee thanks Shepard. Uhm… same goes for you to. You look… gorgeous!" Jack stuttered just as badly as Shepard had causing them both to blush and smile like shy teenagers.

"Please Jack… call me Sam." Shepard said softly as she tried to regain some control over the situation.

"Okay doke Sam it is then." Jack smiled as he lightly tensed his bicep against Sam's hand.

"Ooo tough guy eh?" Sam teased as she snuggled her head against Jacks shoulder sighing theatrically as she did so.

Jack smiled as he realised that he was just where he wanted to be he slowed down his strides just so he could spend more time with Sam. He had always loved spending time with this fascinating woman, they could spend hours just talking about anything and everything from their favourite 21st century rock bands to Shepard's almost obsessive penchant for video games and movies her favourite genre for both being sci-fi. Jack remembered everything that Sam had said and he loved listening to her.

'_**There's that word again "love"' **_Jack thought to himself as he felt Sam's warm head rest against his shoulder tightly.

"You know what I could do with right know?" Sam thoughtfully pondered breaking the comfortable silence that they had so far walked in, raising her head slightly off of Jacks shoulder so she could lock her olive green eyes with his very dark brown eyes.

"No… I don't think I do. What is it?" Jack asked sincerely he would do anything for this woman before him… anything.

"Some ice cream, don't ask why I just do…" Shepard stated whimsically before resting her head back upon Jacks shoulder.

"Hmm… I hear you. Say do you want to go grab some?"

"Usually I would love to but everybody is waiting for us and-"

"Who cares about them! If its ice cream that you want, its ice cream that you'll get!" Jack finished sternly yet softly once again locking eyes with the woman of his affections, cracking a wide smile revealing his pearly white perfectly straight teeth. "And anyway, I was in the mood for some ice cream too." Jack added causing Sam to chortle as she tightened herself closer to Jack.

* * *

"What flavour do you fancy?" Jack asked as he walked towards the ice cream stall, Sam began to stroke her chin in mockery making his question out to be a very difficult one.

"What are you having?" Sam replied sincerely as she dropped her hand and approached the price board.

"Me? I always have-"

"Vanilla fudge ripple." Sam and Jack uttered in sync. Jack's cheeks flushed slightly as did Sam's as they locked eyes again but quickly averted their gazes when they realized how badly they were flirting with each other but for some reason they were still smiling to themselves even once they had both turned away from one another.

"Can I have two of those please?" Jack asked the elderly, human, female merchant as he pointed to the flavour of their choice.

"Of course sir."

"Thanks."

By this point Sam had strolled over to the viewpoint across the walkway from the ice cream stall and was now out of earshot from Jack and the elderly woman.

"If you don't mind me saying so sir-"

"Jack. Please miss you can call me Jack." The marine muttered kindly towards to friendly store merchant.

"Ok Jack. I don't mean to sound like I'm prying but that girl." The elderly lady pointed her finger subtly in Sam's direction. "She's a keeper!" She finished with a beaming smile upon her face.

"Uh… we aren't really… seeing each other." Jack stated dejectedly, whilst his eyes lowered toward his shoes as he began to kick his feet gently against the floor.

"Oh! Well in that case snap her up! And be quick about it!" The old woman spoke excitedly as she prepared their ice cream cones. "I can sense good things about that girl and I also sense good things about you! You are a handsome young man and she is a beautiful young lady… Perfect!"

"We are just friends. I don't even think that she would be interested in somebody like me." Jack sighed as he handed over his credits.

"Nonsense! Just be yourself!"

"Nah… I think that she's sweet on somebody else anyway."

"Not with the way she looked at you when you two first walked in here!" The woman graciously pointed out.

"Do you really think so?" Jack queried genuinely curious about what the merchant would say.

"Of course! I've been alive longer that you two combined so I know something when I see it!" The old woman smiled as she held up the ice cream cones for Jack.

"Thank you."

"No problem!"

"No… I mean really… Thank you." Jack grabbed the old ladies shoulders gently with both of his hands and placed a delicate kiss upon her cheek. "God.. Thank you!" Stepping back Jack noticed the look of shock upon the elderly merchants face.

"Sorry it's just… yeah, thanks again ma'am!" Jack stated one last time before he carefully removed the ice cream cones from the woman's grasp before graciously dipping his head and exiting the vicinity.

* * *

Jack slowly crept up behind Sam who was currently staring out of the large window in front of her that gave the Citadels residents a clear view of the Destiny Ascension. Jack looped his arm over Sam's shoulder holding the ice cream in front of her face.

Sam deftly slipped the cone out of Jacks hand and began to lick at the sides to prevent it from dripping, Jack slowly followed suit as a dab of melted ice cream landed upon his finger.

"Aww, no sprinkles?" Sam asked blithely as she grabbed Jacks finger and licked the melted splotch of ice cream off, provoking Jack to smile widely as he started to analyse how many times they actually flirted with one another.

"I can go back over there and get you some if you like?" Jack asked genuinely as he slowly pulled away from Sam only to be grasped softly by his sleeve and reeled back in.

"Is that just an excuse so that you can go and see your new girlfriend?" Sam asked teasingly as she hid her cheeky grin behind her ice cream cone.

Jack felt his cheeks flush as he realized that Sam must have been watching his little moment with the ice cream vendor.

"Ah… that." Jack smiled as Sam –who had now finished her ice cream- grabbed him by the shoulders and leaned towards him.

"I used to think I understood the male infatuation with older women but… now I'm not so sure." Sam sighed theatrically as she let go of Jacks shoulders and chucked to herself. "But… I can see the appeal." Sam finished as she looked over towards the old stall merchant who began to wave at them, Sam stuck up a thumb and smiled at the old lady as she slowly turned her head back to Jack and grinned roguishly.

"Oh yeah! Yum…" Jack joked as he teasingly licked his lips and widened his eyes at Sam's suggestion. Sam punched him in the shoulder humorously.

"Come on Jacky! We've got to get to Flux before people start to talk." Jack gave a sarcastic glance over to Sam who shrugged her shoulders in turn.

* * *

"You can go sit if you like, I'll fetch the drinks." Jack stated courteously as he stepped through to the bar.

As Sam scanned the room her eyes clapped sight on Jess, Sam didn't know what it was but after Chakwas's little revelation about how much Jess had spoken of her and thought about her and how Chakwas had assumed that Jess was in love with her, Sam just felt like she needed to avoid Jess for a while.

' _**Although she was looking very attractive tonight…'**_ Sam thought to herself as her gaze comfortably rested upon the gorgeous woman before her.

Jess was a beautiful lady, she had naturally bleach blonde shoulder length hair which was normally straight but tonight she had curled the length of it and it was looking very nice Sam thought. Jess also had dark brown almond shaped eyes, the nose was petite with a thin bridge and delicately pointed end and small defined nostrils and a set of lusciously full lips coated in their usual dark red lip gloss to go with her gorgeous creamy white complexion. She was all in all perfection.

"No… I think I'll stick with you thanks." Sam replied to Jack, afraid of what she may do if she was left alone with the beautiful Dr. Carter.

Jack followed Sam's line of sight and sighed inwardly as he remembered himself, Chakwas's earlier revelation.

"Fine by me." He answered sternly taking Sam's hand in his own and powering towards the bar. This action took Sam by shock, but she didn't fight it off. Maybe if Jess saw her with Jack she may back off a bit Sam thought… she thought wrong.

"Hey Shep!" Sam and Jack froze on their spots, Jack squeezed Sam's hand softly as a sign of comfort, but there was no way of Sam getting out of this that easily. Shepard motioned her head forward in an attempt to tell Jack to carry on, out of respect for Sam Jack obliged and continued to power towards the bar sighing inwardly once more.

Sam clenched her jaw tightly before she turned around to face Jess, releasing it as they came face to face.

"Call me Sam, I insist." Shepard asked cheerily as Jess pulled her into a tight embrace "That was… unexpected." Sam stated a bit confused by what was going on.

"Well what can I say, I missed you Sam!" Jess stated cheerily as she grabbed Shepard's hand and pulled her over to the nearest empty table. Jess softly placed her hand upon Sam's shoulder and gently pushed her down into the seat.

"So Sammy… what were you and Jack up to?" Jess's cheery tone had died away now and all Shepard could pick up from what had just been said was a slightly jealous tone of voice, Sam wasn't sure whether she should be flattered or scared, so she went with scared.

"We were hungry so we just grabbed some food, that's all. Why?"

"As I said before Sammy, I missed you." Jess said calmly thus calming Sam down somewhat.

Just as Jess was about to speak again Jack walked over to their table with a large group of followers including Alenko, Chakwas, Jenkins and much to Shepard's surprise Captain Anderson. The group took a while to settle into their respective seats but once they were the fun began, first with a little light conversation.

"So Anderson, I would have thought that you would have been at a certain asari's place right now!" Sam teased as the table erupted into laughter.

"No, as much as I would have liked to have been, some of you're 'buddies' voted otherwise."

"He says that like he had a choice!" Alenko muttered as he nudged Jenkins in the ribs, causing yet another fit of laughter. "Well… he didn't he was practically dragged here!" The laughter resumed.

"Yes. Thank you for that everyone!" Anderson joked as he raised his glass in a mock toast.

"Here's to that!" Jack continued as he tapped glasses with Anderson, Jenkins and a few other marines before he rested his gaze upon Sam grinning wickedly as he reached forward and tapped his tumbler against hers.

After a lot of drinking games heavily involving Shepard and Anderson, some of the other marines including Alenko, Jack, Jenkins and Chakwas filtered their way over towards the dance floor, Kaiden and Jack practically holding a rather drunken Chakwas up.

"Come on boys! Take me!" Chakwas ranted drunkenly as she latched onto Kaidens shoulder.

This caused every marine within earshot of Chakwas to burst into laughter.

"It looks like the un-flappable doc has lost her touch!" Shepard stated between sips of her own drink. By now Sam was happily drunk and so was the rest of the group except for Jess.

"Yeah she really knows how to party huh!" A passing marine uttered to Shepard as she walked over to the bar.

"Hey Sammy I bought this for you." Jess whispered leaning forward so she was only inches away from Shepard's ear.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say that you were trying to get me drunk!" Sam joked as she downed her shot. "If you'll excuse me ladies… um… lady… sorry, I've got to go to the bathroom, excuse me." As Shepard drunkenly stumbled her way toward the toilet Jess grinned devilishly as she muttered to herself.

"Yes Sammy, even whilst you're inebriated your sense of deduction is impeccable… and you will be mine."

Jess began to retrace Sam's footsteps and walked toward the toilets finally ready to make her move. As she got closer and closer to the toilets she noticed that Shepard was stood in front of the doorway randomly punching the buttons to gain access to the bathroom.

"Sammy? Are you ok?"

Shepard simply let out a large sigh not taking her eyes off the door panel. "Nah. It's nothing; just these doors are a bitch to open whilst you're hammered."

"Come here Sammy." Jess wrapped her arms around the taller woman's waist turning her around to face her. "Sammy… how much does a girl have to hint to get you to take notice of her?" Jess enquired seductively as she prodded Shepard's chest forcefully pushing her against the door she then proceeded to pin Sam down with both of her hands either side of Shepard's shoulders and began to softly kiss Sam upon lips.

Shepard had instantly sobered up by this point but she herself was getting carried away by what Jess was currently doing. Sam wrapped her arms around Jess's waist pulling her in closer the heat off Shepard's body was enough to make Jess moan softly with pleasure as her own fingers began to intertwine with Sam's soft black hair, pulling Sam in closer Jess parted her lips just enough to let Shepard's tongue glide though and mesh against her own causing the doctor to let out more pleasured sighs as Shepard flipped her around so now Jess's back was pressed against the cold hard surface of the door.

"Shep… Sam-Sammy… I want you… take me…" Jess managed between ragged breathes as Shepard punched the doors controls, the door swished open causing both woman to slide through to the toilets, the door quietly swished shut behind them- not that either of them would care nor notice if it hadn't- Shepard pressed Jess against the sink counter and began trailing hot, little kisses down the doctors neck causing Jess to whimper with arousal. Jess suddenly felt two strong hands slide underneath her thighs as she was lifted off of the floor and was now sitting upon the counter top with Shepard standing between her legs, still trailing kisses down her neck, up to her jawline and back to her mouth. Sam softly bit down on Jess's bottom lip as her hands began to work their way up the doctor's thighs, up over her small hips and trim stomach eventually pausing against the sides of her breasts.

"Commander… I want you to take me…" Jess whimpered once more nuzzling her nose against the crook of Shepard's neck.

Shepard nodded in agreement as she began to run her finger over the swell over Jess's breast against her white silk cocktail dress, causing the doctor to gasp with pleasure as Shepard's other hand began to make its way up Jess's thigh inching closer and closer to her womanhood.

"Hmm… not wearing any underwear I see?" Shepard whispered as she began to rub her index finger teasingly against Jess's clit. "Well, I don't mind a bad girl…" Sam joked as she slid her index finger and middle finger slowly into Jess's now red hot core, resting her thumb against the doctor's clit as she yet again began to gently knead her thumb against it, causing immense pleasurable whimpers to fall from Jess's full lips.

"Why… don't… you… punish me… then Commander?" Jess tried between moans as she felt Shepard's skilled touch speed up slightly powering her into deeper pleasure.

"Maybe I will… doctor." Sam smiled devilishly as she sped up even more and gently pulled Jess's dress down from where it was covering her breast. "And you will enjoy it." Shepard stated in a matter –of-fact tone as she began running her tongue agonizingly slowly over the doctor's pert, hard nipple.

"Oh… commander!" Jess screamed as Shepard brought her closer and closer to the brim of sexual bliss.

Jess's whole body reacted spasmodically as she felt herself get swept under the tidal wave that was pleasure. Shepard pulled her closer into a tight heated embrace as she felt the aftershocks of what she could only explain to be the best orgasm that she had ever experienced in her entire lifetime wash over her.

"Shepard you're… amazing!" Jess whispered as she fell into Shepard's warm embrace.

"Well… I try." Shepard teased as she cupped Jess's chin and kissed her tenderly.

"Shepard?"

"Yes Jess?"

"I love you…"

* * *

A/N: Thank you guys for reading! Long piece, not quite as long as the others I know but long none less. Drop me a few reviews good and bad, I'm a grown up so I think I can handle it… Thank you for reading once more! Expect updates soon.

P.S: Sorry about any spelling mishaps or faulty grammar, this isn't beta checked so you'll have to bear with. Thanks everyone! _**Peewit22**_


	4. Rejection and Memories

**Mass Effect: An Epic Tale. Chapter 4**

Peewit22

A/N: Thanks to everyone that read my last submission! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks guys for any favourite authors/stories lists, thank you so much! I'm sorry to those of you who may not be fans of the whole 'flashback' thing but I'm kind of addicted to writing this one out for a while rest assured Liara will be back but to get a good grasp on what Shepard is like I find a neat, rounded back story is always good. Anyway I've said to much, rolling on with the story… :D

Disclaimer: I would just like to say as much as I wish I did, I do not own Bioware or any of its characters. Enjoy peeps!

* * *

Shepard's heart had frozen within her chest; seconds seemed to last for minuets, hours. All she did was show the woman before her how attractive she thought she was but nobody had mentioned anything of… love.

Sam choked down her saliva hard, thoughts were running around her mind like tiny insects.

'_**How the hell am I supposed to answer that?' **_Shepard thought rapidly as she loosened her grip off of the beautiful doctor before her. _**'Dammit! I thought this was just a sex thing for her… for both of us, FUCK!' **_Sam's brain had resorted to screaming at her, Sam didn't know what she was to do, she had had sex before but that was just it-sex, nothing more, nothing less. Shepard's brain racked itself for and answer but there was none, well none that came before "Run!" but she couldn't do that… could she? The door was swift to open and she was a good runner- _**'No! Deal with this like a man-woman-WHATEVER!'**_

"Jess." Shepard whispered softly as she cupped the woman's chin once again and began nipping at her jaw.

"Yes… my love?" Jess whimpered as she arched into Shepard's touch. She spoke in as much of a hushed tone as Sam previously had but Jess's voice was sweeter… happier somehow.

Shepard's mind reeled once more as she mentally scolded herself for continuing to show loving affection to the poor woman. _**'What the fuck are you playing at? Are trying to give her the wrong idea you tool!' **_By this point Shepard subtly ceased nipping at Jess's jaw and neck, much to the young doctor's disappointment.

"Sammy? Is something wrong?" Jess asked. Her voice laced with genuine concern for her new found 'love' who's eyes had now glazed over and was being exceptionally quiet… for Shepard anyway. Jess reached up her own hands and softly rested them either side of Sam's neck in an effort to bring her out of her daze.

"I'm sorry… I've gotta go!" Shepard shook her head slightly as she muttered more to herself then to anyone else and she quickly stepped away from Jess who was still sat upon the sink countertop. Shepard bolted towards the door and was out before Jess could even attempt stop her, in fact Sam had gotten away from her so fast that Jess had neglected to notice that her thighs were still spread apart in order to give Shepard access to her more… private areas.

"Great job Jessica… why do i always end up chasing away the good ones." Jess sighed shakily as she gathered herself and started towards the door in a hurry.

'_**Maybe if I'm quick I will catch up with Sammy." **_In her head she knew how wrong she was. As the Normandy's second doctor in command and also the ships psychiatrist she knew more about Shepard that anyone else possibly could, well… with the exception to Chakwas, Jess knew well enough that since Shepard was in her teens she had had 'issues' with committing to things it was a stupid mistake on her part and now she would more than likely pay for it.

* * *

Sam couldn't get out of that room any quicker than she had, as she passed by the table where her comrades were currently seated she quickly swooped her arm through and grabbed the closest glass she could find, luckily for her it was a shot glass filled with rum. As quickly as she picked it up she had slammed it back down only this time it was empty and before anyone could see who the mystery person was she was gone again only this time she was headed out the door.

"Shepard!" A soft, feminine voice shouted from down the hall way by the restroom. Jess ran for one of the sober marines in front of her as fast as she could considering the size of the heels that were attached to her sandals.

"Excuse me!" Jess gasped as she grabbed the young male marine by the shoulders tightly. "Where did Sa- Shepard go?" She managed barely keeping her own breathing under control. The young marine smiled slightly as he pointed in the direction of the doorway.

"Damn!" Jess muttered as she tottered off towards the doorway as quickly as her feet would carry her. As she reached the doorway she slowed down slightly as she descended the staircase, clutching on to the railing as she went along.

"Shepard! Shepard!" She began shouting wildly as she looked in every which way she could in a desperate search for the woman of her affections. Jess spotted another small group of marines and repeated her previous actions upon them as well.

Two of the older female marines pointed down the next set of stairs in sync as one of them decided to speak up.

"Shepard went down those steps and to the right." The marine smiled as she turned back to the other marine for conformation on said directions. Jess nodded vigorously as she began to totter off down the steps and to the right, the sound of her heels slowly fading away as she disappeared.

"Shepard?" The older marine asked as she stepped aside to reveal a crouched down Sam. "She's gone, but you can't hide forever you know." The elder marine teased as she grasped Shepard's bicep pulling her up to her full height.

"Wanna bet?" Shepard queried amusedly as she straightened her back and neck joints out. "I am N7 you know?" Once again Sam teased as she patted both women upon the backs before she quickly proceeded down the staircase. As Shepard reached the bottom of the staircase she reached into her pocket pulling out a credit chit, she swung her arm throwing up the stairs towards the women who had previously saved her ass from the horrors of an overly concerned doctor.

"Thanks Shepard!" One marine shouted after her but Shepard had long since vanished and was now making her way to the elevator leading her to C-sec.

Shepard took one final glance around herself before she punched the elevator button. Sam let out a rather theatrical sigh as she was now in the clear-for the moment anyway- and would soon be back upon the Normandy. As the elevator slowed and the door swished open Shepard had taken to sticking to the wall so she could peek out to make sure the coast was clear. Once Shepard had established that it was as she darted to the next elevator taking her up to the Normandy's docking hangar, she quickly adopted the wall hug once more as the elevator reached its destination. Shepard peered around the corner and began her scans.

"Clear as day…" Sam uttered to herself as she tiptoed out toward the decontamination chamber. As she entered and the ships VI had begun her work. Shepard let out another sigh and began rubbing her temples slowly trying to prevent the tension that was slowly worming its way into her muscles.

"Decontamination complete." The VI sounded as the doors whooshed open granting Shepard access to her comfort zone. Shepard quickly swept her gaze over the currently empty CIC just to be sure.

"Good." Sam sighed as she paced down towards the galaxy map and the stairwell that would take her to her comfortable bed.

"Hey commander! Wild night or what?" Shepard jolted upright as she turned to notice Joker was still sat in his pilots' chair, waving at her teasingly.

"Hmm… that's one way to put it." Shepard began as she slowly paced back up to the cockpit and Joker. At least if Jess did come in she wouldn't be able to get all personal with Joker around, the thought was a good one but it still didn't settle Sam's nerves.

"Why commander? Did I miss anything important?" Joker inquired sarcastically provoking a hard glare from Shepard. "What! Did I or did I not?" Joker raised hands into the air palms facing the ceiling as he shrugged his shoulder whilst he smiled childishly at Shepard who was now standing right beside his seat and him.

Shepard sighed as she squeezed the bridge of her nose between her fingers, shutting her eyes tightly. "Ah come on commander I know that look! You did something bad… come on tell your old pal Joker!" He teased as he patted the arm rest of his chair motioning her to take a seat. Sam shrugged her shoulders as she stepped over to the co-pilots chair and took a seat, twisting the chair around so it was now facing Joker.

"It's a fairly long story Joker." Shepard sighed as she rubbed her face with the palms of her hands.

"Well… Shepard I don't know if you've noticed but, I have time." He joked as his fingers gestured to the braces around his calves. "And anyway you're the only entertaining person aboard this ship… well save for me but that's a given, oh and that hot doctor in the med bay!" Joker smiled inwardly as he noticed the slight cringe that appeared upon Shepard's features after mentioning the doctor.

"Oh Shepard… what did you do?" It was Jokers turn to sigh theatrically now as he leaned forward as much as he could resting his elbows softly upon his thighs.

"What! Nothing! Why would you even assume I did anything to- with her?" Shepard quizzed him wildly as she began to stand up only the flop back down into her seat, whether it was the night's activities or the amount of alcohol she had consumed Shepard felt exhausted.

"You cringed when I mentioned her name; unless you really hate her-which scuttlebutt says you don't-or you must have done something to her or vice-versa. So what's it gonna be?"

"Ah, well… if you tell anybody about this I will break every last bone in your body and then I'll feed you to a varren! Got it?" Shepard enquired half joking as she pointed her finger at Jokers face.

"Yeah, yeah… come on Shepard we've known each other for years tell me what you did! You might enjoy it."

"Fine… I…I- may have slept with her." Sam muttered as she looked down ashamedly.

"Who! Chakwas?" Joker asked trying to keep in his laughter. He loved to tease Shepard it was one of his few pleasures in life, she knew how to take it and throw it back… most of the time but now she just looked shattered if not a little shocked at Jokers question.

"What! Who do you think we are talking about?"

"Chill… I'm just kidding; I know who you are talking about. Dr. Carter right?" Joker queried trying to act calm but the astonishment in his voice was barely containable. "Wow… it's like something out of a high-end lesbian porno." He as whimsically as his gaze drifted to the roof.

"Joker!" Shepard snapped her fingers in an effort to bring him back into reality. "As much fun as it was, she said that she loved me! What am I supposed to do now? Think Jeff think!" Shepard gestured her hands wildly with her last sentiment.

"Oh… wow, how'd you react when she said it?"

"Uhm… well I kind of ran away…" Shepard uttered slightly embarrassed by her actions her gaze once more fell to the floor and a shocked silence hovered in the air.

"Wait… What? You just… ran off?" Joker muttered as he tried to grasp the levity of what Sam had just admitted. "Shepard… you can't just run away when somebody tells you that they love you!"

"I am now well aware of that fact... Joker." Shepard whispered as she rubbed her face again. "She came after me."

"What? With a weapon?"

"Yes with a weapon… Jesus Christ Joker your dense, no she came after me to see what was going on so…" Shepard trailed of as she peered down the hallway towards the CIC.

"So?" Joker asked franticly as he poked her with one of his crutches.

"Oh right… so I paid some of the crew to hide me." Shepard sighed casually causing Joker to raise his eyebrows in shock. "And after she'd gone off looking for me, I came up here."

"Oh… well it's always nice to know that you're the last resort." Joker teased as he turned his chair to face his control panel. "Next time its shore leave invite me I wanna see how you get yourself into such bad situations!" He smiled widely as he tapped a few commands into the panel.

"Sure thing fly-boy."

Shepard stood up and paced her way lethargically towards the staircase. "See you later Jeff!" She shouted up to the cockpit before punching the door control.

"You too Sam!" Joker shouted back amusedly. Shepard couldn't help but smile to herself as she descended the staircase loosely holding onto the bannister as she went along her other hand was deep in her pocket. As she reached the mess hall Shepard ran her eyes over the large empty space and smiled at how quiet it currently was.

* * *

As Shepard reached the cool and calm stillness of her room she quickly replaced her current get-up with some of her old black gym shorts with the N7 logo embedded into the right corner of the leg, she had a matching black gym tee with the same logo upon the chest, these were her usual bed time clothes comfortable and stylish Joker would have said.

Just as quickly as she had gotten changed she had flopped on to the cool, crisp sheets of her bed. Sam wriggled her way up to the top of the bed and began pulling the duvet from under her, tightly wrapping herself in the comfort of the bed and its covers.

Sam's eyelids rapidly became heavy and she quickly drifted into a peaceful, alcohol aided dreamless sleep.

* * *

It was 6:30 in the morning which was late for Shepard and she was still in bed but after the previous night so were most of the crew…

'_**Especially Dr. Chakwas.'**_ Shepard joked to herself as she split her eyelids apart slowly soaking in the dim light of the room.

Shepard was still groggy from the past nights events; she slowly began to rub her eyes and took a quick glance over the chronometer upon her bedside table. Sam sighed as she noticed the time, she quickly jumped out of bed and hopped into a cold shower, Sam had always preferred a cold shower in the mornings it helped kick start her body and mind so she could start the day alert and ready.

After cleaning her teeth and brushing her now dry hair, Shepard slipped back into her usual navy BDU's and made her way to the CIC. As she passed through the mess hall all was empty and quiet and with Sam's current headache she was pretty sure that it was a good thing, as she reached for the door panel of the door at the top of the staircase she heard voices coming for behind her-familiar voices- she immediately recognised both of them.

"No… she just disappeared after that, I looked for her the whole night after that but I couldn't find her anywhere. I was rather hoping to talk to her today but she left her quarters earlier than I'd hoped." Jess spoke the same concern was in her voice as Shepard had heard the previous night.

"Yes well, I had evaluated the commanders' mental state before now and discovered a slight hesitation to commit but I never thought it was this bad… maybe I should call her in for another session." Chakwas added as she tapped away at a data pad she had been carrying around with her.

"Oh no! You don't have to do that I was simply going to speak with her when we both had a spare moment." Jess practically pleaded with Chakwas who had now stopped tapping away at her data pad and lowered it to her side.

"If you are sure Jessica?"

"Yes I am Dr. Chakwas thank you for your concern anyway, its much appreciated."

"Not a problem… now go and find Shepard whilst there is still time." Chakwas patted Jess on the shoulder as she turned to head back to the med bay, Jess continued towards the staircase were Shepard was. Shepard quickly punched the doors controls repeatedly as the footsteps became louder and louder, the door finally swished open and Sam darted through and hurriedly headed for the cockpit.

"Joker!" Shepard shouted in a hushed voice "Dr. Carter is looking for me, help me look busy!" Shepard sat upon the co-pilots seats armrest as Joker tossed her a random data pad before resuming his normal position. Sam tried to look as casual as possible as the sounds of light footsteps approached the light of the cockpit revealing the beautiful Dr. Carter as she came to a standstill inches away from Shepard.

"Hey Doc!" Joker shouted light-heartedly, trying to relieve Sam of just some of the pressure.

"Hello there Jeff. I trust you are well?"

"Me? I'm great! Is there any reason why you came up here? Not to see the handsome pilot I suppose." Joker teased as he cast a quick glance over to Sam who was still pouring her eyes intently over the data pad.

"Actually no, I had heard that the commander was somewhere on the ship so I thought I'd check up here, and I was also hoping to have a word with her." Jess said that as more or a statement then a question as she took a small step toward Shepard. "May I have a word with you, Shepard?" This time it was more of a question, one filled with worry and anxiety.

Sam looked up from her data pad and locked eyes with the gorgeous doctor before answering. "Yes of course you can." Shepard spoke with a confidence that knocked Joker slightly for six; only a moment ago Sam was desperately trying to avoid this 'chat' now she was ready and willing! Joker put it down to another brave action by Shepard but he could see by the little glint in her eye that she wasn't happy… nervous maybe but happy? Not a chance.

"Poor Shepard… glad I don't have to deal with that stuff." Joker whispered to himself as he began typing upon his terminal.

* * *

Shepard and Jess walked down through the currently empty CIC and into the Comm room, they pair walked right into the centre of the room, Jess waited until the door had closed before she began to speak.

"Shepard… what's wrong?" Jess's tone was a mixture of upset, concern and worry. She took a step closer to Shepard who took a step back in turn. "We need to talk about what happened. Last night- about us." Jess pleaded as she began stepping forward slowly eventually backing Sam into a corner.

"I know." Sam sighed as she stepped aside managing to slip her way out of the trap.

"Sam? Stop running away from me, we need to talk about this."

"What is there to talk about? We had sex! Nothing more…" Shepard snapped as she turned away from Jess and crossed her arms over her chest in her own trade mark fashion.

"You know it was more than that Sam! Stop deluding yourself!" Jess pleaded once more trying to snap Sam out of her cold attitude but nothing was working. Jess's shoulders slumped as she realized this. _**'Maybe that's all I was to her… an easy lay.' **_She thought to herself as she made a great effort to hold back her tears.

"No!" Sam had fully turned around to face Jess now and she kept her cool, calm mask on as she confronted her one night stand. "You stop deluding yourself, it was just sex! No… love. No me and you, just sex!" Shepard countered as she stared hard at the young doctor before pacing sternly towards the door. "Now, if there's nothing more to say. I have work to be attending to!"

"So that's just it? I thought you were better than that Sam…" Jess trailed off as she stood in the centre of the room with her arms wrapped around her torso, making an effort not to cry in front of her 'love.'

Shepard now had her back toward Jess she froze in the middle of the doorway resting both of her hands upon either side of the door, turning her head towards her shoulder revealing only one side of her face the other side lost in the darkness of the CIC.

"…I guess you were wrong." And with that Shepard had gone the doors swishing shut behind her, Jess collapsed onto the floor in a heap. _**'How could she do this to me…?' **_Jess sobbed for the best part of an hour, but in the end she knew in her heart that Sam was a good woman and she only did and said what she had because of the raging fear that she had with commitment. Maybe one day they would be together but until then Jess had decided that space between them would be progress.

* * *

"Commander Shepard?"

"Yes Captain?" Shepard was slightly confused by the formality of Andersons greeting, but she rolled with it none the less. "Is there something that you require?" Shepard lay her data pad down and turned to fully face the Captain and she saluted crisply. Anderson returned the salute and began his query.

"Shepard I have two pieces of news for you. One of your crew, Dr. Jessica Carter has suggested that she be relocated to the SSV Lagos one of the other new additions to the fleet; they were looking for a CMO so she decided to take them up on their offer." He handed Shepard a data pad and watched her as she skimmed through its contents.

"Yes, everything seems to be in order." Shepard replied emotionlessly as she passed back the data pad. "There were two pieces of news sir?" She asked curious as to what the second piece might be.

"Ah… Now, Shepard I am now fully aware of what transpired between you and Dr. Carter during our trip to Flux." Anderson stated to Sam's surprise. "And I know about the conflicting feeling between the both of you, but in this matter I have agreed with Drs Carter and Chakwas and we all decided that it is unhealthy to run away from your true feelings. This is why we all agreed to put you into sessions with Dr. Chakwas to help you overcome your issues." Anderson finished confidently as he clasped his hands behind his back in a statement of authority, Shepard knew there was no way to get out of this now, but it still didn't stop the anger and rage that was now working its way through her entire being.

"With all due respect Captain Anderson, I don't need to see anyone about my 'issues' I can deal with them alone!" Shepard spat in frustration, she hated being backed into corners with no way of escaping and also being told she had to do something against her free will was only aggravating matters.

"Shepard." Anderson said in an eerily calm voice as he raised his hands up in a defensive posture. "We all agreed this is for your benefit… and we are right. You have serious issues that need seeing to by a professional eye, Dr. Chakwas is that professional eye…" The captain trailed off as he rested his hand gently against the commanders' shoulder in a futile effort to calm her down. His hand was quickly and rather violently shrugged away as Sam opened her mouth to argue.

"Yes, you all agreed but I bet my next wage that Dr. Carter was the first person to bring this forward! Was she?" Shepard managed to keep her voice low but the anger was seeping its way into every single last word.

"Yes, she may well have been but we are suggesting this to help you Shepard don't you see?" Anderson pleaded with Shepard but he could still see the white hot rage burning behind her eyes.

"No… you are not 'suggesting' anything you're TELLING me to do it, and I for one don't want to!"

"Shepard. Its either this or we take you off of active duty for… who knows weeks maybe even months until your better and I know all too well how much you hate not being able to work so do this and keep working in the meantime or I get Chakwas to order you off. So… what's it going to be?" It wasn't really a question so much as a point but Anderson was right and yet again she was trapped into a corner.

"Fine…" Shepard sighed heavily as she slumped her tense shoulders and dropped her gaze to the floor. "Just answer me one thing, Captain."

"Anything Commander." Anderson queried his curiosity peaking.

"Why should this affect you and Chakwas in this way? This was between me and Jess, no one else. Now it seems that everyone knows and I'm the only one being punished for it. Why?" Shepard asked weakly as she looked back up and glared curiously at Anderson who in turn sighed deeply before he began to talk.

"Shepard, you're not being punished for anything-"

"That's not how it feels to me…" Shepard trailed off as she let Anderson speak once more.

"You are not being punished. You're simply being helped, and this affects us because you are part of this team and we need you at your best and in order to get you there we need to work out your issues. And this is completely between you, me, Drs Chakwas and Carter and also anyone either of you may have told but I trust that you were both discrete?"

"The only other person who knows on my end is Joker whether or not Dr. Carter has told anyone, I don't know." Shepard replied honestly receiving a pat on the back from Anderson.

"Your sessions will start tomorrow at 1400 hours and the amount of sessions that are required of you are indefinite until Chakwas says otherwise, ok?"

"Yes Captain." Shepard snapped off a crisp salute before returning back to her quarters.

* * *

Shepard checked the chronometer as she finished up with the rest of her filings. As she began to pack away the door chime sounded signalling that there was someone at the door.

Shepard got up from the desk leaving her notes scattered across the table top, as she walked over to the door and punched in a command, the door swiftly opened revealing a tall, tanned handsome man.

"Jack?" Shepard enquired with confusion as she motioned for him to enter. Jack quietly bustled himself inside, he kept his neck stooped down and his hands in his pockets as he walked over to the round table in the corner stopping in front of it.

"I heard… about you and Carter. Are you ok?" Jack asked sympathetically as he removed his hand from his pocket and reached over to grasp Sam's hand as he did so he gently pulled her towards him wrapping her in a tight hug as the softly collided.

"Yeah I'm fine, its Jess that I'm more worried about." Shepard's words were slightly muffled by Jacks chest as he pressed her tightly against him. Jack slowly pulled his head back so that he could lock eyes with Sam as it hit him as to what she had just admitted to.

"Why Sam? She had you dragged into therapy all because that stupid bitch can't face up to a little rejection its… pathetic!" Jack growled as he rested his chin back upon Shepard's head however she was the one who pulled away this time as she locked eyes with him, just staring into the dark irises for a moment before speaking.

"Jack what's wrong? I've never heard you curse before. What's up?" Shepard asked slightly disconcerted by Jacks previous outburst. She continued to look deeply into his eyes until he finally broke and told her what he thought.

"You know what Sam? You're too good for her… for anyone! You are absolutely perfect in every way and she just abused that… perfection, tampered with it and now your hurt and she gets away scot free! I should go over to the med bay and put a bullet into her skull right now!" Jack pulled away from Sam and took several strides towards the door before he felt a strong hand wrap around his wrist and pulling him back.

"Jack… why are you so angry? What happened to you?" Shepard queried, confused as to why Jack was acting like a bull in a china shop.

"Nothing Sam, I'm… sorry I didn't mean to scare you." Jack whispered as Shepard pulled his arm reigning him in for another hug.

"You didn't scare me; I just want to know why you're acting all protective and upset, what's wrong?"

"No. I can't say your under enough pressure as it is I don't wish to add to your burdens…" Jack trailed off as he felt two warm hands softly grip either side of his face pulling him closer to Sam until they were inches apart, their noses briefly brushing against one another sending pleasurable shivers up and down Jacks spine.

"Jack… you'll never ever be a burden to me… ever." Jack pressed his forehead against Sam's taking in a deep breath as he prepared himself for what he was about to admit.

"Shepard believe me when I say this that I'm just telling you how I feel nothing more. I don't expect you to say the same back or anything, I just… just want you to know where I'm at. Okay?" Jack asked, at this point he felt more flustered then he had his entire life and it felt great just being this close with Sam, he could stay here forever if it was possible.

"Okay Jack." A whisper of a smile traced her beautiful lips as she gently pressed their foreheads together even more so that the tips of their noses were now touching.

"Okay…" Jack muttered trying to keep his breathing at a steady pace.

"Okay."

"Shepa-Sam… I… I love you." He whispered as a fleeting silence swept over the room before he knew it a delicious set of lips were pressing against his own, tightly as she parted her lips for his tongue to collide with her own. For what had felt like hours had just been just seconds as a distinctive need for oxygen washed over them both, silencing the inquisitive tongues of Sam and Jack. As they parted they kept their foreheads pressed against one another's in an effort to keep their feelings suppressed within the small gap between both mouths.

"Jack…" Shepard whispered as she slowly drew her eyelids together.

"I understand, but it's enough for me to know that you know about how I feel it's… important to me." Jacks voice was just as soft as Sam's had been; he closed his eyes to match Shepard's as they kept their foreheads locked together.

"Thank you." Sam muttered as Jack gently placed both of his hands on either side of her cheeks and gave her another smouldering kiss upon the lips before stepping away from her, his hands fell limply to his sides as he locked eyes with her. Sam deftly grabbed one of Jacks hands and guided him over to the bed; they both slowly sat themselves upon the edge of the bed still looking deeply into one another's eyes.

"Stay with me tonight Jack." Shepard flopped gracefully on to her back and curled up into the foetal position. Jack knew that she wasn't asking for sex, just someone to keep her company as she slipped into the dark reaches of the horrors that were her nightmares.

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Jack uttered softly as he squeezed himself up closely behind Sam so that they were spooning, he then craned his arm up so that he could rest his chin upon the palm of his hand as her watched over the woman of his dreams as she slept peacefully – for now. Jack had always known about her nightmares he would often help her sleep whether it was sharing a bottle of bourbon with her as they talked out her issues or if it was just simply helping her into bed once she was drunk, he would always be there for her… no matter what.

* * *

Shepard eyes abruptly shot open as she woke up a couple of hours later, drenched from head to toe in a very fine layer of cold sweat she then took note of the oddly warm sensation that was pressing against her back, Sam slowly turned her head around only to notice a very peaceful looking Jack she let out an amused sigh as she plopped her head heavily back on to the fluffy pillow below.

Just as she had done this Shepard felt and heard Jacks form begin to stir as he rapidly woke up and examined Sam for any signs of distress, he noticed the fine layer of sweat that covered her exposed brow, Jack lifted his finger and softly brushed the unbelievably soft hair away from her forehead.

"Sam? Are you ok?" Jack whispered his tone was practically overflowing with worry and concern as her sat up once again craning his arm and resting his chin upon his hand, placing the other hand on top of Shepard's hip. "Sam?" Jack resorted to rolling Shepard onto her back as he did Sam let out a fairly disgruntled groan.

"What? Did someone die?" Shepard teased as she poked Jack square in the chest causing him to also tip onto his back.

"No. Not yet anyway" He cast a mock annoyed expression in Sam's direction but Jack couldn't stop the small grin that wanted play upon his lips, this caused Shepard to chortle softly as she tried to get off the bed only to be pulled back down by a large, muscular hand that had rested upon her shoulder. Sam once again flopped onto the bed, she felt Jacks strong, slightly calloused fingers intertwine with her own long, thin fingered, soft but equally as strong hands, and Shepard also felt him give her hand a gentle reassuring squeeze before he piped up once more.

"I'm worried about you Sam…" Jack trailed off as he stared at the ceiling as if he was searching for the answers to a question. "You keep on having these – Nightmares and you don't let anybody in. I guess I just want to know what's going on up there." He dropped his gaze from the ceiling and turned his dark brown eyes to meet the olive green of Sam's as he motioned with his finger towards Sam's brain. "I just want to help you out… that's if you'll let me?" Sam could see the sincerity behind the poor man's eyes as he searched to find a more permanent place within this woman's life, her heart… her very soul.

"Jack. I know you only want to help but seriously, I've got this."

"You say that but… I don't think you have!" Jack exclaimed quietly as he kept his eyes glued to the woman lying next to him. "I think that when you go to see Chakwas tomorrow you should tell her about your nightmares, the amount of sleep you get is unhealthy and quite possibly dangerous… I… just don't want to see you get hurt Sam." Jack reasoned with Shepard, although he knew in his heart that it was like trying to talk with a brick wall he at least had to try.

"For god sake…" Sam sighed as she sat up, leaning the palms of her hands against the bed underneath her. Sam's eyes now trained with the embers of Shepard's deadly anger fizzling behind them upon his form. "If I wanted somebody to fuss over me I would have stayed with that 'stupid bitch' doctor back there!" Sam motioned her thumb towards the door of her cabin. "But I didn't, Did I? Because I can't! And I would have thought that you! You of all people would have understood, but apparently not! What's wrong with everyone is today some kind of national holiday that everybody had forgotten to tell me about! What nation 'pity Shepard day' is that it? Well I'm done! With… you and… her, all of you can… just fuck off!" And with that Shepard had exited her cabin door and was already out of eyesight. Jack was positively shocked; all he did was make a suggestion and well… that happened! There had to be more to Shepard than met the eye, there had to be, people didn't just crack like Sam had after one night of sex and an honest 'I love you' no… there was more and Jack knew it, now all there was to do was to find out just what this other thing was.

* * *

Shepard had gone down to the engineering bay for some peace and quiet, and she was right to go down there is was always empty save for the odd engineer and the slightly louder humming of the drive core but it wasn't like they had a giant krogan down there… right?

Shepard walked over to the desk where she and Jack had been not a day ago; she rested both palms against the table as she took a deep breath and sighed as she released it. As Sam looked about the table looking at a few bits and bobs she heard the elevator swish open, Shepard closed her eyes in preparation for another lecture but what she actually got was quite the opposite.

"How's it goin' Shepard?" The sound of uneven steps along the tinny, metallic floor gave a giant hint at who it was and the question just affirmed it. "What's up with you and that chick? Is she still giving you hassle?" Joker asked as he finally reached the table gently placing down a bottle of tequila as he did. Shepard raised her eyebrows slightly at the fact that Joker had liquor, not only liquor but hard liquor aboard one of the most advanced vessels in space and not only that but he was the damned pilot!

"Come on commander… Desperate times call for desperate measures and everyone around you seems a bit desperate right now!" Joker tried to persuade her with his so called 'charm' but she wasn't entirely convinced just yet.

"Was that a compliment or an insult?" Sam joked weakly as she pulled two crates out to serve chairs for the pair. "And remember who you're talking to here…" She stated as they both plopped down onto their allocated seats.

Joker smiled widely as he tried to think of a good come back but came up empty. "Well I'm not quite sure yet you tell me commander." He poured the tequila into two metallic cups and handed one to Sam with a cheeky smile. "I mean everyone seems to be trying to help you but you're not taking it as help. You're taking as criticism and that will lead you down a dark road… and believe me I know what I'm talking about!" Joker teased as he motioned his hand wildly at his legs smiling away as he did so. "Look. I'm not trying to do the same as Jack and Dr. Carter but they're just trying to help and you're pushing them away." They both took a long sip at their drinks, a slightly longer sip for Shepard in fact she'd finished hers and began pouring another.

"Couldn't get enough yesterday huh?" Joker chortled as he watched her closely, she had nearly filled her tumbler to the top and before he knew it, it was half empty again. "Something on your mind commander?" unusually for Joker his voice contained trace amounts of concern but this didn't bother Sam as much as it had with Jack and Jess, she had known Joker since… well forever and she knew it was hard enough to come down here like he had now let alone actually air his feelings, Sam appreciated it when it came from the 'rock hard' pilot as he had once said a while ago.

"Nah, it's just been a rough day." Shepard muttered as she drank the other half of her tequila and began pouring herself as well as Joker a fresh one.

"Commander, it's only 0800 hours… AM." Joker chuckled to himself taking another sip of his beverage.

"Aren't you supposed to fly the ship anyway? Do you want to get a D.U.I?" Shepard laughed mirroring Jokers previous actions only she took more than a sip… more like a mouthful.

"What? In space and with the Normandy plus my mad piloting skills? I'd like to see em' try!" He joked as he laughed into his cup.

"Yeah whatever you say… But seriously aren't you?" Shepard's tone turned more serious along with the question, Joker immediately stopped laughing and locked eyes with her.

"No. Some of the data banks files were magically encrypted." He waggled his fingertips in the air to accentuate his meaning. "And its taking a little longer then the grunts at C-sec had originally planned so we are stuck here for a few more days I'm afraid… ma'am." He saluted limply whether it was because he was laughing to hard or whether the drink had already gotten its claws into him, she didn't know but it was something different… she could live with that.

"Is that right? Well maybe we should go out on the town tonight then?" She offered Joker a one chance card to finally escape the Normandy even if it was for a few hours just to be out in fresh air was appealing to him.

"Uhm… me?" he looked around to see if anyone was behind him once he realized it was all clear he turned back to Shepard who was now grinning roguishly. "Were you talking to me?" His voice raised slightly in pitch as he became the tinniest bit excited.

"No… I was talking to the elcor behind you!" Shepard added sarcastically as she leaned towards Joker. "Yes you, dumbass." She teased as she downed the next half of her tequila, before once more filling her cup again. "So?" Sam moved her hand in a moving wheel motion trying to coax an answer out of the startled pilot.

"…Oh yeah sure!" He finished as he began to stand up "If you're up to it then yeah! I'd like to go out on the town with you… it might even be fun!" Sam slowly got to her feet and motioned for Joker to follow her she took the bottle and the small stack of metallic tumblers and slowly paced towards the room in which contained the drive core. Once they were both inside they spotted Pressly, Adams and a few other various male engineers sitting around a make-shift poker table which had a fair amount of credit chits strewn across the top. Shepard grinned as she ushered Joker over to a seat.

"Oh hey commander! Have you come to wipe the floor with us again?" Pressly teased inspiring a dull roar of laughter around the table as everyone scooted around in an effort to make space enough for two more gamblers.

"Yeah well now the cats out of the proverbial bag so… looks like I'm out of the hustling game until you all get senile." The cheeky remark caused the dull roar of laughter to erupt into a much larger roar of laughter earning Shepard quite a few pats upon the back too. "And yeah you can count me in by the way." Sam muttered as she was handed a round of cards.

After quite a few rounds of skyllian five and an even larger amount of tequila the group were ready to retire to their respective homes –so to speak- as everyone stood up to leave Shepard and Joker flagged behind the group as they all piled into the elevator.

"Say commander! I… I think that I… that's me by the way… I may be drunk, but I'm not sure…" Joker tried to steady his footing by latching onto the wall Shepard was drunk to but not as badly as Joker, as Sam would say… she was a bit tipsy, and yet she had drank more than anyone else inside that room. Joker didn't know where he was or what time it was as Shepard guided him into the newly free lift. Sam had thought it best to take a separate lift so that if Joker did throw up he wouldn't be as embarrassed. She was thoughtful to say the least.

"As much as I-"Joker paused to hiccup… or vomit he wasn't sure which at this stage. "As much as I would love to go out on the town with you… you have a beautiful face you know? And your eyes! Wow those eyes!" Joker was once again interrupted but this time by a brainwave. "Sorry…" He said apologetically at he patted Sam's shoulder for added effect. "I have to go to be- pod I have to grab a pod! You're the only one with a bed… did… did you know that? Well anyway I'll go now. Peace out Shepard!" Joker waved his hand in the air weakly as he made his way to the nearest empty sleeper pod.

Sam laughed under her breath as she realized how many people had opened up to her in the past few days, she shrugged that thought away as now all she wanted to do was to try and get some sleep which was usually possible under the influence of alcohol. As she staggered towards her door she heard the pneumatic hiss of a door, which door she couldn't say as she swiftly darted over to the wall that separated her cabin entrance from Kaidens work station, she hugged the wall as she listened to the footsteps pass by. Shepard really didn't want to see anyone at the minuet and that was all it would take to get to her warm, soft bed as she went to press the door control she heard the footsteps come back only this time louder, she also knew this time she had been found. Sam let out a sigh of air that she hadn't realized that she'd been holding in for so long.

"Well, well, well. Commander Shepard!" Chakwas stated sarcastically as she stood arms crossed over her chest in a rather authoritative stance if this was anybody else Shepard would have told them not to take such tones with her, but this was Chakwas the CMO of the Normandy and whilst aboard this ship that counted for more than Sam's own status. "Where were you at 1400, hmm?" She asked in a stern yet curious tone.

"Well… you see… I was doing some-" Shepard was cut off by Chakwas's irrelevant question.

"Is that alcohol I can smell on your breath?" Chakwas moved in closer to Shepard to see if she could catch a snifter of whatever it was that Shepard had upon her breath. "Yes it is!" Chakwas exclaimed as she returned to her normal position, arms folded and all. "You miss a medical appointment… an important one at that! For… alcohol? Why?" Chakwas was rolling off more questions than Shepard could currently count.

"Not alcohol… Tequila!" Sam tried to make light of her current predicament but it wasn't proving effective. There was not so much as a flinch from the good doctor, but Shepard was putting on her most charming grin again, it wasn't working for her. "What? Its true isn't it?" This time Chakwas did move as she stepped forward and placed a warm hand upon Shepard's bicep, as she smiled warmly. This scared Sam to no end whenever Dr. Chakwas did that you knew you would be getting the short straw.

"Shepard… tonight you will sleep in the med bay, and the second that you wake up I WILL give you a psychological analysis. Do you understand?" Chakwas said more than asked as she gave Sam's shoulder a reassuring squeeze before grabbing her forearm and practically dragging her into the med bay.

Once inside Shepard spotted Dr. Carter at the back of the room by her desk. Sam was angry enough at the woman as it was without being subjected to sharing a room with her. As gently as she could, Shepard wrenched her arm from Chakwas's grasp, once free she quickly paced towards the door without a single look back. That was a mistake on Sam's part as she felt a sudden pressure upon her left shoulder followed by a pneumatic hiss and a sharp pain, as she turned her head to see what was happening she saw Jess's hand holding the syringe firmly inside a clenched fist that was pressing against her shoulder.

"You bitch…" Sam growled as she felt her legs turn to jelly she stumbled slightly before she felt somebody hold her tightly and then solid nothingness as she once more fell into the comforting embrace of a peaceful sleep.

Chakwas stood still, her mouth gaped open as she watched Jess rest Shepard down upon the nearest bed. Meanwhile Jess had now settled Sam down comfortably upon the bed and softly stoked Shepard's forehead with the pad of her thumb, smiling warmly at the commander's prone form as she continued to graze her thumb against the soft skin of Sam's brow.

"Sorry Sammy." She whispered softly as she stepped away from the bed, turning towards Chakwas only to see the look of horror plastered upon her face.

"Was that really necessary?" Chakwas asked coolly as she gathered her wits back up and began reanimating herself. "You are aware that we have the ability to speak, do we not?" She added sarcastically as the made her way back over to her desk, flopping firmly into her chair she began reading Shepard's apparently 'out of date' psych profile.

Chakwas began to sympathize with Shepard as thoughts of everything began to run around within her mind.

'_**Was she being punished?' **_Chakwas thought to herself remembering the conversation that she had overheard between Sam and Captain Anderson. It wasn't official but even Chakwas had started to see Anderson and Jess begin to treat Shepard like she was in the wrong for something that she and Dr. Carter had done together, they had both consented to it… well when Chakwas thought about it Shepard stated that she was quite drunk when it had happened and she herself faintly remembered Jess constantly providing Sam with drinks and Chakwas had even asked the other doctor why she wasn't drinking herself. Pieces were starting to fall into place right in front of the good doctors eyes.

'_**Jessica was getting Shepard drunk just so that she could have her way with her?**_ _**No, that wasn't how she'd thought of Jess. Jess was very committed to things… she was the sort of person who would say "Do thing right or don't do it at all!" So what was this all about? Was it love? Perhaps she should speak to Jess once she had a spare moment and also looking at how Jess was acting now maybe it was love… one sided love…' **_Chakwas finished up on her mental note taking and began reading some legitimate notes, Shepard legitimate notes to be more specific.

* * *

Official Alliance Medical Information: 27/06/2172 

Name: Samantha Sidera Shepard.

D.O.B: 27/06/2154.

Birthplace: New York City.

Blood Type: AB Negative.

Eye Colour: Green.

Hair Colour: Black

[Earth resident] [_**Space resident**_] [Colony Resident Other]

Psychological Analysis:

She displays vast amounts of leadership skills which could prove to serve her well under her chosen career path. Also she has a tendency to act in a rather aloof manner when it comes down to a mission or her general opinions involving the whole galactic community, this could either prove to be a superior trait or a bad one but from what she has displayed so far I can only assume that this will be a good one. Samantha sees the world in shades of grey as opposed to most soldiers' typical 'black and white' way of seeing things, from what I can tell so far this will also work in her favour whilst out and about upon the battle field. Samantha is also wise beyond her years when it came time for us to put to test the tactical scenario simulator; she passed with flying colours and has shown a lot of skill and room for growth in this area also. Samantha also acknowledges the opinions of others as demonstrated in the team building exercise, people seem to follow her and are quick to trust her too, also a good trait for any member of the Alliance.

During our more personal discussion it seemed that Samantha displayed trace amounts of commitment issues especially within her own personal life. She seemed weary of any attempt to bring in the subject of commitment and although very capable, in –fact exceptionally capable of making the more important or larger decisions whilst we were running our team battle simulators. As we (The medical team) know that during simulations, two squad members will always die. Samantha was ready to make that decision quicker than some of her squad mates could blink, this isn't to comment that she is in anyway emotionally unfit or 'cold' as the marines would say, she seems to know when to leave her emotions behind for a brief time in order to see the mission and not the feeling that may cloud a person's judgement, this also builds upon her so far perfect report. I also find evidence to suggest that this particular soldier should be recommended for the N7 Special Forces program, she displays sufficient skills with most weapons and the right attitude for said program.

Sincerely:

Bennett Siatzio CMO,

Alliance recruitment facility,

United States of America,

New York City,

Manhattan.

* * *

Chakwas put down the file after reading it and began to sift through the pile assessing whether there were any more things about Shepard's life that she didn't already know about. These unknown areas of Sam's life were hard to find seen as Shepard's own mother and Dr. Chakwas had met one another when Chakwas had been stationed upon the Einstein and in actual fact Chakwas had known Shepard since she was a mere child.

Shepard had grown up around doctor Chakwas and in turn the doctor had grown to adore this young tyke. Sam had always been in possession of a great personality even when she was 8 years of age-which was her age when Chakwas had met her- Shepard was always inquisitive but never rude about it, she knew her boundaries which astounded Chakwas it was unheard of for such a young child but it was true in Shepard's case.

Even as a kid Sam had enjoyed her space, her privacy. Chakwas remembered that when Shepard was around… 10 years of age, Sam had begun to read big books even to Hannah Shepard and John Shepard's amazement ever since that time Sam had loved to read no matter the subject of the book. John used to buy Sam a new book every 5 weeks or so depending on the size of the last book she had read, this was one of the many was that Sam and her father had bonded, Sam was close to her mother of course, they were like best friends but Sam looked up to John like a mentor he taught her things every day and challenged her mind all the same but he would still punish her when she'd screw up along with Hannah obviously.

Chakwas was snapped out of her minds rambling when she picked up an interesting looking data pad as she skimmed through the first few words she smiled widely as she realized what this gem was. Chakwas shot a quick glance over to Shepard who was still being hassled by Jess; she then focused back on to the data pad before her before smiling evilly.

"Oh… this should be good!" Chakwas muttered under her breath, leaning back into her chair the good doctor readied herself for the next tale in Shepard's exciting existence. "Oh yes, very good indeed…" She added as she began reading the notes in front of her eyes.

* * *

Sam had once again found herself in New York City, the very place were her life had begun and the very same place that she and her parents had visited so many times before, very many times even, it was like a second home to the family of course the family only usually came to visit Sam's grandparents and the other members of her family but his time was different.

The Einstein had been sent away on a dangerous mission and that had meant that anyone under the age of eighteen had to be sent to their relative caretakers or family. This had happened before but this time was different now that Sam was seventeen she knew of the dangers that lay ahead of her mother and father and it worried her that there was a sliver of a chance that she may never see either of them again or some of her older friends or even that nice Dr. Chakwas who would swing by sometimes and would just as often bring Sam some candy, Sam didn't care that she was still getting this treatment even though she was now seventeen she loved that candy and also enjoyed Chakwas's visits but the candy was just a bonus and a pretty good one at that.

It was early summertime in New York, Sam's favourite time of year she loved the way the trees swayed in the warm breeze there green leaves shining in the light and the way that the water shimmered and shined against the azure blue sky and the bright white sun. She could stand here all day skimming rocks and staring at the rippling water but she had to get back to her grandma and grandpa although they weren't the worrying types, Sam had been gone for a good four hours just wondering around Manhattan aimlessly just taking in the familiar sights and catching up with some of her mother and fathers friends as she passed them by on her little walk.

Sam enjoyed her freedom whilst she had it, in a few days school would begin again and she would have to join in with it, not that she minded she had previously joined up with a school on one of their longer shore leaves and Sam had met a lot of people that she had hit it off with back then so fingers crossed she would still have the same friends again, but Sam wouldn't hold her breath on that.

As Sam turned away from the lakeside she heard a gasp come from somewhere not that it mattered to her but she looked around anyway. To Sam's shock she saw a young girl around the same age as herself bouncing up and down upon her tip-toes wildly, the girl also covered her gaping mouth with both of the palms of her hands as she stared at Sam wide eyed. Sam squinted slightly and leaned forward to get a better look at who this girl was as she craned her neck forward slightly she noticed the girl was running towards her with her arms spread open and before Sam knew it she had collided with the other girl.

The young girl pulled Sam into a fierce embrace for what seemed like hours, Sam didn't know who this was but there was something familiar a scent or the feel of her reminded Shepard of her previous visits to New York but she didn't know why, but for some unknown reason it felt good. Sam suddenly felt the girl slip away from her as they reluctantly separated letting the warm breeze slip through the small crack between their bodies. Sam looked into the other girl's eyes, for the first time Shepard could see her face…

"Is that… Kenzie?"

"Yeah it's me Sam!"

* * *

A/N: Sorry again about the long chapter it's just quite hard to stop typing when the ideas are floating around your mind. Anyways up thanks for waiting it took longer to write then it should have, and hopefully my next chapter will be up and readable by… I dunno' let's say… Wednesday! Anyway thanks again everyone you're all awesome! -Peewit22-


	5. Love and Healing

**Mass Effect: An Epic Tale. Chapter 5**

Peewit22

A/N: Thanks for the advice guys! I will take that into account as I continue upon my way through the story. I hope that everyone enjoyed the last chapter… or at least some part of it. And also this story isn't supposed to be 'cannon' so I will change some minor and major things -very major things to- with the story as I go along; if you don't like it… well nobody said that you have to read it. Anyway let's get this underway shall we!

Disclaimer: I would just like to say as much as I wish I did, I do not own Bioware or any of its characters. Enjoy people!

* * *

Present Day:

Chakwas was doing her hourly routine of checking Shepard's fluid levels and the other monitoring systems scattered around her bedside. It had been just over two weeks or so since Sam had been admitted into the med bay and the spectre was growing more and more antsy by the day the only time Shepard seemed to cool down ,and visibly to, was when Liara would sit and tell Sam about Saren and the Geth and also about how Shepard had saved all life upon the Citadel and further afield, for now anyway…

Liara really enjoyed her daily -and quite often hourly- visits to see Sam, Liara took particular joy in just telling Shepard of their adventures and how they had travelled the galaxy bringing peace, most of the time anyway, to those who sought out her help, most of the time said sought after help was required by admiral Hackett himself as Liara would recall the endless comm discussions asking Sam to go here and there. This had annoyed Liara in certain cases knowing that Shepard was just being thrown around by the alliance for their own selfish needs, but she knew deep down that Sam would help anyone who asked for her help or that looked like they could use it and there were always going to be those people around her who would need it, Liara would just have to accept that.

As was the story for most of the time, Sam was sleeping sat in and upright position that she had begged Chakwas to let her stay in because it helped her sleep and it also made her feel a little more comfortable, so Chakwas had obliged to Shepard's request and had reluctantly let her stay sat upright. But little did Sam know that when she had fallen asleep the good doctor would often lower the bed a few inches in order for the deep lacerations upon Sam's ribcage and her previously punctured lung to heal properly which was going to take long enough as it was without Shepard putting stress onto some of her stiches and tearing them.

Chakwas quickly glanced at the chronometer and took note that the time was currently 0900 this usually meant that in about 5 minutes Liara would usually come in and check up on Shepard, but today Sam had been awfully tired and had once again fallen asleep for about the fifth time in around half an hour. Shepard had already slept cleanly throughout the usual night cycle aboard the Normandy and Chakwas just couldn't figure out why Shepard was so exhausted of late but it looked like high-time that she ought to find that particular reason out.

For the third time in the past ten minutes Chakwas had gotten up to check Shepard's monitors, fluids and so on, just as she had reached the spectres bedside the med bay door swished open in its casual fast-paced manner, revealing behind it the beautiful young asari who steadily walked toward Sam's side, making sure her steps were quiet as she noticed the peaceful look covering Shepard's face as she dozed away.

Liara smiled warmly as she positioned herself next to Shepard's bed resting her hands upon the guard rail, gripping it slightly as she looked lovingly at Sam's face before turning back to Dr. Chakwas.

"I see that she has fallen asleep again?" Liara asked. Her own voice laced with concern. She too had noticed the amount of time that Samantha's day had been filed with sleep more so than anything else. Sam had of course been told to get a lot of rest but it was almost as if – dared Liara think it – like Shepard was back in a comatose state. Usually Sam would be fairly lively around this time, that's what made it Liara's favourite time of day, as Ashley would have said anyway.

"I'm afraid so yes… I share you're concerns though, she has been sleeping rather a lot of late." Chakwas muttered as she fiddled with one of the tubes leading into the back of Shepard's hand. "But then again it is fairly common for a patient with such extensive injuries like those of Shepard's to sleep for staggering amounts of time." Chakwas added in an attempt to relieve some of Liara's worries but she was unsuccessful in her efforts as she saw Liara intertwine her azure blue fingers in-between Sam's longer ones, gazing caringly at the prone woman and where the giant gash was. The cut glowed blood red and nearly took up half of the left side of her face.

Liara lifted her other hand to just above where the laceration was located and slowly with the pad of her thumb began stroking the soft strand of jet black hair that was directly above it. "I know you're right Dr. Chakwas but… I'm still worried." Liara's gaze never wavered off of Sam whilst she spoke to Chakwas.

"Yes, as am I Liara… as am I." Chakwas muttered to herself as she turned around and sat back behind her desk, seeing the data pad that she had been reading earlier about Shepard's life before the military and during her military enlistment, she laid it down to one side so that she could easily find it later on.

"Do you think that there is something wrong doctor?" Liara spoke softly and quietly as to avoid the possibility of waking Sam up.

"I don't think so myself but from a medical point of view there is a strong possibility that she is just exhausted, and according to my tests and recent observations I'd say that that was the most likely cause for the commanders little 'hibernation' period." Chakwas said truthfully with a chuckle as she began typing rapidly at the small terminal in front of her.

Liara let out the breath that she didn't even remember holding in. She was beyond happy that the strongest possibility was that her Spectre was going to be ok and would most likely be out and about before they knew it, much to Chakwas's annoyance no doubt. Liara smiled at the thought of this strong, passionate woman before her could only be ruled by one person that she knew of so far, and that person was Dr. Chakwas without a doubt.

"Uggh…" Shepard let out a quiet yet gravelly groan as her eyes slowly broke apart revealing the one woman in the galaxy that she actually cared for standing beside her concerned expression in tow once again. Sam felt a warm comforting presence upon her hand as her eyes drifted down to said specimen she noticed that there was a smaller blue hand mingled in with her own, she liked it and gently gave it a caring squeeze as she locked eyes with Liara and flashed her breath taking smile.

"Hey there you…" Liara whispered warmly, bringing her other hand up from her side to meet with its match as she started to stroke the back of Sam's hand with the pad of her thumb. "Are you feeling well?" Liara asked concernedly as she passed Sam a Sippy cup. To Shepard's delight it was half filled with apple juice, which she had once told Liara that it was her favourite drink in the entire galaxy. Sam sipped slowly from the cup and lowered it and before she knew it Liara had reached across and gently took it from her, placing it upon the bedside table.

Sam grinned roguishly at Liara who in turn smiled back warmly. No words needed to be said they both understood what the other was conveying but Shepard had to say the most prominent thing on her mind anyway. "You're the best… do you know that?" Shepard asked teasingly, but she meant it and Liara knew it to as she leant forward and place the most delicate of kisses upon Sam's injured temple. "I feel better already." Sam said softly as she squeezed Liara's hand again for reassurance.

"I'm glad that you do. We were worried about you. You have been sleeping rather a lot lately do you have any idea why?" Liara asked in a hushed tone so as not to alert Dr. Chakwas to Sam's now awoken state this was the only time Liara had seen her love today and she planned upon making the most of it whilst it lasted.

"Hmm… I hear what you're saying. I have been feeling rather tired lately but I think the drowsiness is starting to fade away with each passing day. But thank you for your concern Liara… I appreciate it a lot." Sam smiled in sync with Liara as Liara blushed slightly at the commanders glowing words.

"Thank you Shepard, you are to kind." Liara spoke through her pearly white smile as she looked away from Sam in an effort to hide her up and coming blush.

"Ah! I see that a certain someone is awake then?" Chakwas finally piped up. She had known that Shepard had been awake for at least 10 minutes. She had overheard parts of the pair's conversation as well as the slight change in the heart monitor as Sam came out of her dream state. "I trust that you are well commander?" Chakwas crossed her arms over her chest as she patiently waited for an answer from the spectre.

"I feel fine… really I do! But why do I get the distinct feeling that I shouldn't be?" Sam arched an eyebrow at Chakwas as she watched her mess with some of the medical equipment surrounding the bed.

"No. It is okay to feel fine but you just seem like you have been out of it a bit lately. Have you been feeling different in anyway?" Chakwas pulled out her usual data pad and prepared to start jotting notes down upon it.

"Honestly, as I just told Liara here… I'm fine, the tiredness has faded a bit and I'm feeling more refreshed with every day." Shepard eased as her eyes drifted from Chakwas to Liara and back again.

"Okay commander perhaps you were just extremely exhausted in that case and like you just said that will fade away with time. In light of your newest news Shepard you should be free to leave in two days or so maybe even tomorrow morning if you behave yourself." Chakwas stated happily as she gave the monitors one last go over.

"Thanks doctor that would be great." Shepard was ecstatic inside but she kept that well hidden… or so she thought anyway. Maybe finally she and Liara could have some time alone to talk about things and also about how close they were getting to one another. Sam knew that after all of the help she had received from the therapy sessions that she had been forced to attend but now Sam had thought about it she had realized that commitment didn't bother her anymore in fact not in the slightest it would have seemed or perhaps it was just Liara…

"Yes. Thank you doctor Chakwas." Liara thanked her just as calmly as Shepard just had managed to. Similar thoughts ravaged their way through Liara's mind though about how she and Sam could talk about… this. Liara looked down at their still clasped hands and smiled internally as she squeezed Shepard's hand softly.

* * *

The next few hours flew by in Shepard's presence Liara just couldn't put her finger on where the time seemed to warp to whenever they spoke this caused her to remember and old human saying that Liara had once heard Kaiden say.

'_**Time flies when you're having fun!' **_Kaiden was truthfully a very wise man and from what she heard he always had been Liara was glad that they were able to save both Kaiden and Ashley whilst on the planet Virmire with much thanks to Shepard and her being the great tactician that she was.

As was the case on Noveria, Shepard was able to capture Benezia and in doing so saving her from a fate worse than death. After Shepard and her crew had left the planet Noveria the matriarch had been handed over to the alliance that had in turn had placed her in the hands of the Asari republics who were now hiring the best doctors, scientists and more to try and return Benezia to her former glory.

Sam had vowed to Liara that she would get Benezia out alive even if she died herself in the process. Liara didn't like the sound of that very much and had also vowed to herself to stop Samantha doing anything that would harm herself even if it meant killing her mother to do so. Sam was too important to Liara to lose her and if she did die trying to spare Liara the hurt and upset that came with losing a loved one Liara would only end up more hurt and upset at the prospect of losing Shepard for her own cause.

"Doc, can I like you know… go now?" Shepard quizzed only half teasingly as Chakwas once again began to meddle with the tubes and pads that were attached to Sam's hands, arms and chest. "You did say today right?" Shepard was genuinely scared in case Chakwas decided to keep her in any longer.

"I did say today. If you had behaved yourself."

"Yeah and I totally did! I did behave myself right?" Shepard was already confused at what was going on all Liara could do was quietly chortle to herself as she noticed Sam's bewildered expression.

"No more than usual which as it stands isn't a lot." Chakwas was trying to press Shepard's buttons and she was doing just that quite successfully as she also noticed Sam's confused facial expression. "But for you this could be classed as calm so I will let you off." Chakwas saw how much Shepard visibly relaxed as she also heard her let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank god…" Shepard muttered as Liara stroked her injured shoulder softly to help Sam ease down a bit more. "No offence doctor but I don't think I ever want to come back in here again. It's just… rather boring." Sam finished with a smirk as she turned to Liara who shook her head slightly with a grin of her own on display.

Chakwas gently took Shepard's hand into her own and examined were the area where the drip was still inserted and slowly began to slide the needle out causing Shepard to grit her teeth, hard. "Ok. I think you're all set to go commander." Chakwas watched as Sam slowly stepped off of the bed trying to avoid putting too much pressure upon her fractured toe. Chakwas gently passed Shepard two crutches and watched closely as Sam quickly manoeuvred herself on to them.

"Yes. Thank you doc I think I'm good to go." Shepard flashed a quick smile, further more indicating her level of happiness with the new found freedom.

"Not a problem commander. Oh and one more thing. I'll need to do daily check-ups on you to keep an eye on you're progress and also no strenuous activity! I suggest that you get straight to bed and stay there. Understood?" Chakwas said only half teasing as she pointed her data pads stylus in Sam's direction.

"Of course I will… mom." Shepard groaned as she turned on her crutches and began to hop forward toward the door quite quickly with Liara trailing happily behind her.

The asari turned to face Dr. Chakwas just as Sam had cleared the doorway; Liara had her hands clasped together behind her back still looking rather pleased at Shepard's progress and how well she was healing.

"Thank you doctor Chakwas. You saved Samantha's life I am in your debt… in fact we are all in your debt, thank you." Liara was very sincere as she spoke indicating a wealth of happiness underneath her calm exterior. Chakwas was just doing what she did when she saved Sam and nobody would owe her anything.

"Oh no of course not! You or anyone else for that matter does not owe me anything I was just doing my job and frankly just having Shepard back with us is enough for me." Chakwas smiled to herself as she remembered Sam as a young child and how she hadn't changed that much what with her sense of humour and level of maturity.

Liara nodded slightly as she agreed with Chakwas's statement firmly. "As am I doctor… as am I." And with that Liara had turned on her heel and was pacing her way out the door into the mess hall and around the corner, following Shepard's own route.

* * *

"Well we are all glad that you are okay commander." Kaiden spoke softly as the rest of Sam's ground team save for herself nodded in agreement. It seemed that even the old krogan was glad to see her up and about although he didn't show it much he enjoyed Shepard's company and most probably wouldn't know where to put himself if the worst did happen to her but knowing Wrex he would find something, he always did.

"Yes! You had us all worried there skipper don't ever pull a stunt like that again!" Ash stepped to the forefront of the small crowd and stated firmly as she softly poked Sam with her finger tip. Liara nodded fiercely with the young marines' sentiment as she herself stepped forward from behind the spectre, gently placing a hand upon her uninjured shoulder.

"She is correct Shepard. If you ever come back in this state again I will kill you myself." Liara teased as she gave the spectres shoulder a slight squeeze. Her joke caused everyone, Wrex and Shepard included to chuckle loudly once Shepard had composed herself she looked over towards Liara's and saw her giggle to herself to. Shepard subtly reached her hand away from one of her crutches and gently took Liara hand within her own larger one; Liara looked into Sam's eyes and smiled widely as Sam squeezed her hand softly presenting a smile of her own.

"Yeah well… I haven't seen you angry yet and that said I don't really intend to." Shepard retorted still holding hands with Liara as she slowly pulled the young asari closer to herself, wrapping as much of her arm that she could spare without losing a crutch around Liara's neck lightly. Liara snuggled herself into the embrace of her new found love finding her body warmth a fairly attractive prospect. Slyly Shepard took the crutch into her other hand. "Oh, this isn't a sign of affection I just need someone to help me stand up straight; you see these crutches don't quite cut it." Shepard teased motioning back towards her crutches as she spoke. The group once again broke into a fit of laughter especially Joker who had overheard the statement from the table where he and some of the other marines were eating their lunches.

"You're telling me commander!" Joker had stood himself up by now and had begun making his way over to the small group steadily upon his own crutches. As he finally reached the group he positioned himself on Shepard's crutch heavy side – the other currently being occupied by the resident archaeologist – "So commander wanna compare?" Joker mused teasingly as he lifted his crutch up to Shepard's own looking for any differences.

Jokers jaw dropped theatrically to Sam's own amusement as she chortled to herself. "That's so uncool man! Why do you get cool black ones and I get lumbered with these… crappy silver ones?" Joker shouted as he began to pace towards the med bay. As the door to the med bay opened Shepard turned around to see Joker point his crutch at someone she couldn't see.

"Doctor! You and I need words!" Joker quickly dived through the doorway as the doors swished shut behind him. Shepard once again began to laugh to herself about the ridiculous spectacle she had just witnessed.

As the group also broke into laughter once more also watching the previous action taken by their pilot. Liara was the first to get a grip on herself after Shepard had of course. She slid out from underneath Sam's strong but light arm and took hold of her bicep gently guiding a crutch back to her now free side equally as gently resting her hand upon the handle. "Come, let's get you into bed." Liara spoke softly to Sam who beamed back a wide smile and an arched eyebrow for reasons unknown to Liara.

Sam turned her head back to the small group and raised her eyebrows suggestively as she flicked her head in Liara's direction. "This one's a smooth operator." Sam stated providing great amusement to Ashley, Garrus and Wrex as well as some smaller giggles from the rest of the group. It took Liara a moment to realize her faux pas; she blushed slightly as she smiled warmly at Shepard.

"You know very well what I meant!" Liara stated through a rapidly widening smile as she softly gripped Sam's bicep once again walking very slowly in tune with Shepard's own pace.

"Yeah I know. See you later guys!" Shepard nodded her head in their direction as she and Liara turned the corner around the small wall that covered her cabin's door up from the rest of the mess hall. Liara dabbed her fingers steadily over the doors controls before they entered.

As the door swished open revealing Sam's ever clean room that had somehow managed to stay dust free even though Shepard had been in the infirmary for just over two weeks. Liara noticed the confused look upon Sam's face and decided to pipe up.

"I kept it clean for you by the way…" Liara trailed off as she guided Shepard over to the bed. Shepard groaned slightly as she sat herself down upon the edge of the bed.

"You really are the best." Shepard smiled as her eyes scanned the room, it was as clean as a whistle and then some. Her smile only grew as she turned her head back to Liara who was now sitting next to her with Sam's hand once again cupped gently within her own.

Liara grinned warmly at Shepard's reaction to her handiwork before Shepard's 'accident' they had already talked about what it was like growing up and their own experiences.

Sam had always been told to keep a neat and tidy room it was bored into her and ever since then she continued to do so even when her mother and father weren't around to judge it. "Thank you Sam." Shepard just smiled at Liara's now casual use of her name, she liked it, the way Liara had loosened up around her over time it was good. For both of them.

Sam slowly stood back up and walked over to the side of her bed and began to sit down again but this time somewhere where she could actually sleep if the need took her suddenly. Liara quietly stood up and turned to the set of draws to her left, Shepard grew curious about what she was doing, she didn't mind Liara looking but she just wanted to know why. Sam's thoughts were interrupted when Liara pulled out her black N7 t-shirt along with her black N7 gym shorts. Shepard's brow furrowed and her jaw went slack as she continued to stare at the garments.

"How… did you…" Shepard stuttered unable to get her words out properly but her facial expression said it all to Liara and she knew what Samantha was trying to say.

"They were on your bed already when you were taken into the infirmary, it doesn't take a scientist to work out that these were you're night time clothes." Liara smiled as Shepard visibly relaxed, her features returning to their normal positions. "Sorry if I pried… I can go if you-" Liara was stopped short of a full sentence with a stern raised hand from Shepard.

"No. I just forget sometimes how intelligent you really are… I'm the one who should say sorry." Shepard slowly stood up and limped heavily towards Liara Shepard held out her forearm for Liara to drop the clothes onto as she wouldn't be able to grip them very well what with her broken fingers, Liara obliged gladly, softly placing them into Shepard's care. "Thank you Liara." Sam stated as she limped away towards the bathroom.

It took Sam just over 10 minutes to change and for a military kid that was considered a long time but add to that the extent of her injuries it all began to even itself out. Liara waited in Shepard's room patiently, she knew of all Shepard's injuries and would have offered her some help but Liara thought it a bit intrusive so she decided only to help Sam if she herself asked for it, it seemed a fair option.

Liara paced around Shepard's room looking about the place as she went along. Sam didn't seem to have much in the way of things but somehow it suited her like it was her calm place where she could perhaps stop and think before running into the fire and chaos once more but then on second thought the fire and chaos was more a part of Shepard than anything else. Liara gave the room one last fleeting glance before turning back to the restroom door where Sam now stood with her arms across her chest with a slight smile upon her face.

Liara smiled back as she approached Shepard and stood in front of her.

"Are you ok?" Liara's tone was one of kindness and worry all at the same time. Sam couldn't help but let her smile grow at the realization that Liara actually cared about her pain. "You look slightly pale. Come, lie down." Liara ordered softly as she put her arm around Shepard's lithe form gently guiding her towards the bed.

Once they had reached the bed they both slowly sat themselves down upon the crisp sheets. Shepard let out a quiet sigh as her body touched the bed.

"Sam? Are you absolutely sure that you're ok?" Liara fretted as she snuggled herself closer to Shepard's slightly cold form.

"Yes." Sam answered tersely her voice was gravelly and rough, Liara knew that Sam was in pain she could see the little wrinkle upon the bridge of her nose and plus she was replying to Liara's concerned questions in small, one-worded answers, which was never a good sign. Liara eased herself off of the bed and knelt down in front of Shepard, gently resting her hands upon her knees.

"Sam… you're not well you must rest…" Liara trailed off as she saw Shepard shiver. "Shepard?" Liara at this point had also noticed that Sam was already asleep. She let out an amused sigh as she got to her feet; Liara once more placed herself next to Shepard and eased the prone woman into the bed behind them. "There we are." Liara then began to pull the sheets over Sam's entire body covering her up so that the imaginary cold of Shepard's mind could not get to her. Liara stood back for a second to admire her handiwork and to also admire the beauty of Sam's now peaceful face.

As Liara lent over Shepard to finish tucking in the final pieces she felt a soft brush against her waist as she looked down she noticed that Sam had rested her hand upon her hip but she was still asleep so far as Liara could tell anyway… She let the hand lay there for a while just basking in the fiery hot touch of Sam's body upon her own, but all good things have to come to an end as Liara stood back up straight she felt the slip away only to be replaced with the soft grasp of Shepard's hand in her own as Liara looked down to see what was going on she noticed that Shepard was now fully awake and was locking her own olive green eyes with that of Liara's pale blue ones.

"Stay…" Sam once more rasped as she motioned her head to the space upon the bed next to her. Liara was confused at first but even in her bewildered state she couldn't help in stopping the huge smile that had found its way upon her lips. Slowly Liara walked around the bed to the opposite side and began taking her boots off; she softly placed them to one side before Liara flicked up the sheets and was about to slid underneath them.

"Aren't you going to change?" Sam asked Liara light-heartedly before realizing that they were both inside her cabin and that it would be rather awkward for Liara to have to go and fetch her own night ware. "Wait… Check the second draw down." Sam pointed blindly at the set of draws but luckily for her Liara was a smart woman.

Slowly Liara pulled out a baggy white t-shirt and matching shorts both emblazoned with the N7 logo just as Sam's were. Liara smiled cheekily as she turned to Shepard.

"You can put those on if you would like." Shepard motioned at the clothing that Liara was holding tightly in her hands.

Liara walked over to the bathroom and began getting changed into her temporary sleepwear, smiling a she caught herself in the mirror as he stared at the N7 logo embedded into the fabric, rubbing it slightly with her index finger before she proceeded back out into the dark cabin where Shepard was probably now sleeping. Slowly the asari scientist slid underneath the bed sheets taking one last glance at Sam's now sleeping face before rolling over so her back was towards Shepard.

Liara was pleasantly surprised as she heard the spectre next to her shuffle slightly as the mattress dipped ever so slightly with the Sam's body weight. The young asari giggled softly as she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist from behind she also felt unbelievable comforted when she felt Sam's body heat press up against the whole length of her body Liara let herself snuggle back into the commanders embrace feeling odd sensation of being overly-relaxed as she did so but that passed with every second that ticked by.

"I did make it pretty clear I was cold right?" Shepard teased as she squeezed Liara closer to herself soliciting another giggle from the beautiful archaeologist.

"Um-Hmm…" That was all Liara could manage in her current position she was the most comfortable she had ever been in her entire life. She felt safe, protected, and secure although if somebody did burst in right now guns blazing Liara didn't think that Shepard would be in the right state to protect anyone but knowing her she would most definitely try. But for the simpler things like the cold, it looked like Liara was going to be the one who would have to protect Sam and if that involved more of what they were currently doing then Liara really didn't mind at all.

"Oh and by the way… white really suits you…" Liara giggled once more at Sam's remark before the cabin fell comfortably into silence as both woman slipped into a deep, warm sleep.

* * *

It was 0600 and Chakwas hadn't seen Liara or Shepard at all yet which was odd for Shepard anyway but Liara? Where had the young asari got to, she was not in her room when Chakwas had checked and she definitely wasn't in the mess hall… so where was she this morning? Chakwas racked her brain over and over until it clicked.

'_**She must be with Shepard!' **_Chakwas shouted inside her own mind that had to be the answer not that Chakwas minded… as long as Shepard didn't try anything libidinous Chakwas wouldn't put it past the commander but Liara was a smart woman and would probably have Shepard back in bed and resting in no time still Chakwas couldn't shake that feeling that that was exactly what was happening behind those doors but unless Shepard actually hurt herself it had nothing to do with her…

* * *

Shepard awoke with the same feeling of Liara's warm back pressing against her front. Sam feared to move just in case she woke the sleeping beauty up but then it struck her.

'_**I'm on medical leave… so actually I don't have to get up!' **_Shepard's mind had finally twigged the concept of illness –for now anyway- she gently snuggled closer to the gorgeous asari before her. As she did so Liara began to stir and Sam was greeted with a pearly white smile as Liara rolled over so now she was resting in the crook of Shepard's uninjured shoulder.

"Good morning Beautiful." Shepard's voice was still raspy but mainly because she had only just woken up herself. Sam watched as Liara's smile grew with the knowledge returning to her as the groggy sleep haze faded away as she realized who she was in bed with and who's bed it was that she was actually in. Liara softly ran her fingers slowly in circular patterns upon Shepard's chest, smiling wildly as she did so.

"All the better for seeing you…" Liara trailed off as Sam cupped her chin delicately and pulled her in slowly for a soft kiss, their soft lips parting away from one another's before they actually knew what was going on.

"Ah… I'm sorry…" Shepard apologized attempting to pull away completely from Liara only to be just as delicately grabbed around the back of the neck Liara's fingers intertwining with her soft black hair, this time however the kiss was steamy and fiery which was torture to Shepard as she knew damn well there was absolutely nothing she could do to relieve it.

"I'm not." Liara pressed her forehead against Sam's their lips only inches away from one another's, practically brushing together. "And when I said 'all the better for seeing you' I meant it." She gave Sam a slow, wet seductive kiss before she settled back down, snuggling once more against Shepard's now slightly flustered form.

Shepard stared off into the distance glassy eyed as Liara shrunk down into the warmth and comfort of Sam's body once more. She could feel it in her core her entire body was on fire with the passion and the excitement that she wanted to physically express with the only woman in the universe she dared think about right now.

But for Shepard the asari wasn't just a physical thing, she had for once also grown to enjoy Liara as a person beyond the beautiful face and delicate features she was an intelligent, brave and strong woman but on occasion shy and clumsy. Shepard had never met such a woman in her life of course Sam's mother had all of the former covered but shy and clumsy? Shepard loved these particular traits about the woman who currently lay in her bed and she wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize that not now, not ever.

Then the proverbial thought train hit Liara, what were she and Shepard now? Surely they were more than 'just friends' well… at least she hoped they were anyway. Liara dreaded to think that Shepard did this with any of her other comrades.

Shepard had also been right there for her though out an awful lot and vice-versa but where do they go from here? All of Liara's thoughts were silenced as Shepard slid down the bed so they were yet again face to face.

"What's up Liara?" Shepard asked genuinely concerned about why the asari looked so confused and thoughtful.

"Oh… nothing. Why do you ask?" Liara whispered as she edged closer to Sam just so she could once again feel that enticing body heat firing off of the woman beside her.

"Because you have that little crease above you're eyebrows that you always get whilst you're trying to think." Sam traced one of Liara's eyebrows with her good thumb as she teased her; happy that she had provoked another giggle from Liara she placed a quick yet delicate peck upon the bridge of Liara's nose before pulling back and smiling warmly as Liara began to ponder her thoughts once more.

"Liara?" Shepard's face was now deadly serious as she gently cupped Liara's cheeks in the palms of her hands leaning in closer to add more emphasis on to what she was about to say. "I don't know what the asari call… well this… but I don't…" Shepard sighed unable to reach what she was attempting to say to the archaeologist opposite her. Liara sensed her hesitancy and assumed control upon the situation as she mentally decided to take over from where Sam had left off.

"I believe we should be an item, as you humans would say." Shepard nodded vigorously at Liara's small sentiment as Liara in turn cupped Shepard's face and pulled her into another red-hot, passion-filled kiss, only pulling away for lack of oxygen. Liara gasped as she reluctantly pulled away from Sam who had now glazed over possibly from shock or… horror at what Liara had just said. Liara's heart started to beat at an alarming rate as second after second passed by and still Shepard said nothing.

"I believe that to." Shepard swallowed hard as she spoke the words; a small smile crept across her beautiful features before flourishing into an even larger one accompanied by a small chuckle before both of them quietly burst into laughter, once the laughter had subsided they pair flopped back upon the soft sheets and sighed in sync soliciting tiny after laughs from both woman.

"Thank god you came in when you did… I thought I was going to choke on my own tongue-" Shepard never did get to finish off that sentence as Liara uncharacteristically rolled into Shepard's waiting arm and kissed her so hard, she almost immediately parted her lips granting Shepard access with her deft touch causing Liara to moan as the pleasure racked her body right down to her core. All she wanted to do now was just take Shepard and have her every which way that she could, she had claimed her stake and she just wanted to take what was now hers and hers alone but with Sam's injuries they couldn't or more rightfully put Liara wouldn't. The young maiden let out one more pleasured gasp as she let her fingers linger softly upon Shepard's cheek.

"My apologies Sam, I really shouldn't do that to you in your current condition…" Liara apologized empathetically as Shepard purposefully hit the pillow behind her hard with the back of her head causing her to grimace slightly. Liara smiled at her amusedly before her eyes traced down the whole length of Sam extraordinarily fit and muscular form before locking eyes with her once more.

"No… it's not your fault. I think this is just another one of those things that we blame Sovereign for." Liara's face flashed a mixture of emotions at the mention of its name. "Arrg! I'm such a dumbass! Sorry Liara I completely forgot about… your mother. I'm so sorry." Shepard pulled her into a warm tight lingering hug as both woman felt the varying degrees of emotion that hung about the room like bad smells.

"No." Liara placed her finger tenderly upon Sam's lips silencing any more apologies that were about to come her way. "You of all people have nothing to apologise for. You saved my mother from certain destruction if not by Sovereign or Saren than definitely by herself, I just… I just hope that she gets better soon." Shepard squeezed Liara as hard as her body would allow her which wasn't very hard at this moment but her point remained she would be there for Liara no matter what.

"Me too, and I'm not just saying that!" Sam lightened the mood with one of her casual jokes as she always did whilst attempting to cheer up another. "I actually read some of her teachings… before I met you." Shepard practically whispered. Liara suddenly sat upright but one of her hands still lingered softly upon Sam's chest.

"What? Really? When… How? Why?" Liara was awe struck why someone as capable of leading as Samantha want to read about my mother and her own methods of leading. Liara was overcome with thoughts most of which were giddy shock and joy but also wonder and confusion.

"Whoa! Slow down sister, one question at a time… please." Shepard put up her hands in mock defence Liara only responded by grabbing them both and pressing them into her own azure blue ones intertwining their fingers as she opened her mouth to ask single questions this time as opposed the other list way of asking.

"Why would someone such as you need to read about leadership?" Liara arched eyebrow as she asked her question at a significantly slower pace teasing Sam slightly. But she did of course pose quite an honest and good question never the less. Shepard smiled wryly as Liara leant forward and nipped the side of her lip.

"The alliance used to give us books to read in the hopes that someday someone will turn out to be quiet a good leader… We all got different books luckily for me I got your mother… -s BOOK! I meant I got your mothers book… to read…" Sam sighed thinking she had dug herself out of that trench unnoticed but unfortunately she hadn't. Liara let out a rather joyful laugh as Sam flushed slightly under the dim lighting of her cabin.

"So… did you enjoy my mother… -s book?" Liara quizzed genuinely though it was covered with the bewitching smile that had taken over her face. Shepard's face re-flushed causing Liara to chortle once again.

Shepard scratched the back of her neck irrelevantly with her broken fingers which were all currently wrapped up in splints and bandages. "I'm so sorry I said that… slip of the tongue." Sam shrugged before getting back on track. "And yes I did enjoy your mothers book I was very insightful and the sheer power that her writings extruded were incredible… I don't mean to sound odd but I think your mother is a genius now I know where you get your tact and insight from." Shepard teased as Liara gave a soft prod to the abdomen noticing how hard it was Liara cocked her eyebrow to herself clearly infatuated with the sheer sexiness of Sam's body. The young asari was beyond surprised at how brilliant this woman really was she reads, she's beyond intelligent and she's powerful, beautiful and not to mention a genius herself, perfection to Liara. In many ways she was like Benezia but She wasn't going to tell Samantha that just yet or maybe never…

"Will you look at the time!" Sam exclaimed playfully as she attempted to leap out of bed but Liara's hand gently guided her back down to the mattress.

"Samantha you are not well… you require rest and I plan upon you getting it and if you don't accept it then I will have you sedated." Liara waggled her finger as she herself got out of bed. Once she made sure that Shepard was all tucked in and comfortable she began changing back into her scientists get-up rather lethargically, she didn't really want to leave Sam but she needed to take a shower and change her clothes and anyway she could come back after that.

"You can keep those by the way." Shepard said, her voice muffled by the pillow that Liara had playfully thrown onto her in an attempt to cover her eyes as she got changed. Shepard had enough respect for the young asari not to peek at her no matter how hot she thought her body might have been maybe one day she'd see it but not today.

"Shepard I cannot they belong to you…" Liara felt a hand grab her own softly as she was pulled back down into Sam's embrace.

"Yeah… and now your mine so it's only fair." Shepard tickled Liara's sides as much as she could with her good hand. Liara squirmed as she protested weakly to Shepard's advances Soon she was pulled into a soft but all the more passionate kiss as hers and Shepard's tongues meshed together, Liara had to put all of her effort into getting her eyes to stay their normal hue instead of turning into the obsidian black that came with being highly aroused.

Reluctantly both of the two women broke the kiss as Liara slowly got to her feet feeling slightly jelly-legged after the recent event.

"So… you own me now do you?" Liara bit her bottom lip in anticipation for what Sam would say.

"Completely… and utterly you are without a doubt one hundred percent, mine…" Shepard whispered the last word rather powerfully causing Liara's legs to only weaken more she was practically swooning over how sexy the spectre really was the sheer power that she commanded… just the thought of it made Liara feel like she was melting.

Liara placed the shirt and shorts back into the draw so that she wouldn't have to rally around later on trying to find them after completing the task at hand she turned back to the smouldering spectre that lay on the bed leaning her head on her crooked up arm, staring intently back at Liara who just smiled at Sam seductively causing the spectre to once again go glassy eyes. Liara was finding it more and more difficult to resist Shepard but for Sam's sake she had to, who knows how much more badly injured she could get if Liara suddenly pounced upon her.

Liara shook those thoughts free from her head… for now anyway. "I'm just going to take a shower and change my clothes. I will be back shortly so stay put." Liara ordered softly as she pointed a stern finger and a grin in Sam's direction.

"Yes mom!" Shepard shouted after her as she heard the doors swish open and closed and suddenly she was hit with the urge to eat, get up walk do anything but lay here. But then again Liara had told her not to.

'_**Since when do you listen to other people?'**_ Sam asked herself as she sat up grabbing hold of her crutches as she did so and began walking towards the doorway luckily for Shepard none of the crew would've been up at this time plus with it being shore leave they would most definitely all have hang overs anyway. As Sam left her cabin she gave a quick glance around the mess hall, once she made sure it was all clear she managed somehow to power up the stair case and arrive within the CIC. Looking around once more the coast was yet again clear and she powered her way towards the cockpit.

"Hey commander!" Joker flashed his new black crutch in the air as a greeting as well as a statement of his stylishness. "So… managed to escape Chakwas's grasp for two minutes eh?"

"No actually did that last night but now she has Liara watching me like a hawk not that I mind though…" Shepard reminded herself of the beautiful blue face of her... item? Girlfriend? Whatever she would call it.

"Ah, so you two together now then?" Joker smiled, he already knew the answer to that he just wanted to hear her say it once and for all.

"Yeah… we are now an 'item.'" Shepard laughed with Joker as they discussed their crutches and how hard it was to get around on them. Shepard had the kind of crutches that would rest underneath your armpit providing extra support whilst standing whereas Joker had the normal type with the handle is actually by the hand.

"I've only been on these for what… half an hour and I've already got sore armpits!" Joker laughed hard at Shepard's newest discovery. "Anyway I've got to go Liara will kill me if she finds out I left the bed…" Shepard swung away only grunting a goodbye in Jokers direction as she turned towards the door leading to the staircase once again she powered down the staircase and was just outside her room when she heard the med bay door open.

"Shit…" Sam muttered under her breath as she fired through her cabin door closing it behind her before leaping into her bed in doing so she heard the nasty clicking sound of her unsettled bones shifting around but currently the adrenaline was too active in her system to notice the pain. Gently she eased herself into the same position Liara had left her in. As Shepard settled herself down she began to unsurprisingly fall asleep.

If it was Liara who she had heard exit the med bay the asari must have bumped into someone or went somewhere else before coming back here. But now with Sam sound asleep with the exhaustion of her morning adventure had just caught up on her as she slipped further and further into sleep.

Liara silently entered the room after five minutes of talking to Tali about Shepard's health, if Liara didn't know any better she'd say that Tali had feelings for her Spectre but she would never betray Liara's trust… would she? Liara quickly dismissed that bad train of thought as she saw the sleeping figure of Sam so relaxed until Liara noticed the little wrinkle upon the bridge of Samantha's nose. More often than not this indicated that she was in pain like when Liara had seen her whilst she was first taken to the med bay.

Liara, still remaining quiet hastily approached Sam's side slowly sliding herself on to the bed next to her she gently lifted the sheets up to see if there was anything visible that could account for her pained expression but there was nothing to take note of but the look upon her beautiful features, still it left an unsettling feeling in Liara's gut she didn't like it but all she could do was wait until Samantha woke up and then she could ask her about it but until then she would just once again enjoy being within Shepard's presence.

Liara gently took hold of Sam's lithe form and slowly pulled her closer towards her own body, Shepard's head rested softly upon Liara's chest her breathing stayed steady as to indicate that she never woke up from being moved slightly. Liara smiled warmly as she silently watched Shepard sleep softly brushing the spectre's temple as she slept peacefully. Sam let out a shaky sigh as she continued to sleep provoking Liara's brow to once more furrow with worry. What was going on inside Samantha's head? She wondered as she continued to watch Shepard sleep, the steady, warm comforting presence of Shepard's head pressing lightly upon her chest caused her to become a bit drowsy herself. Liara also, just as silently as Shepard had, began slipping into her own deep sleep.

The two women had been asleep for about half an hour before Liara awoke once more still aware of the presence of Shepard upon herself but the maiden asari grew more and more concerned when she noticed that Sam's breathing had become erratic and there was also a slight gleam of sweat covering the surface of Shepard's forehead. Liara continued to watch silently more shocked about what was going on more so than anything else, suddenly Sam's eyes shot open and she quickly sat upright still breathing deeply letting out various other shaky breaths as she looked around the room once she had established that Liara was sitting upon the bed next to her she visibly relaxed, as she gently wiped her brow with her forearm before gently flopping back down onto the mattress.

Sam looked straight up at the ceiling as if she was searching for answers as to what she had imagined, answers that were never going to come to her. What was she going to say to the wonderful woman beside her? How would she explain what she had just done? Of course Shepard knew what she had just done it happened nearly every night visions of Elysium, of the Batarians forcing their way into the large human colony killing every man woman and child that came between them and the utter destruction of humanities largest colony. Shepard winced as the memories came flooding back to her they hurt even to think about but what is done is done and no matter how much she dwelled upon it, it would never change those events… god if only things worked that way.

Liara watched Sam closely as she rolled onto her side, resting her chin upon her crooked up arms hand. Slowly the spectre's gaze drifted down from the ceiling over to meet Liara's own pale blue eyes. Sam's voice was hoarse almost pained as she tried her hardest to piece a coherent sentence together within her mind before inevitably saying out loud.

"Sorry…" Was all she could manage so far as her eyes darted back up to the ceiling, letting out a long breath of air as she did so.

"Shepard," Liara reached over and grasped Sam's hand, which was now, crossed behind her head along with her other hand. "What just happened? Are you ok?" Liara's speech was slow and caring as she stroked each of Shepard's digits with her own azure blue ones. Her eyes remained focused whole-heartedly upon those of her spectres.

"Oh, nothing just a bad dream is all… get some rest dear, you deserve it more than I do." Sam spoke just as softly as Liara had previously but the young asari was more worried about what Shepard had just said.

'_**Bad dream? How often does Samantha have these- bad dreams, and why, more to the point" **_Liara was greatly concerned for the woman who she was sharing a bed with but what could she do about it? She cannot just ask outright what it was but then again wasn't that what couples did? Liara couldn't think properly all she could do right now was hold Sam close to her which she did do gladly, snuggling tightly against the spectre as they both remained silent, just being with one another right now was enough to ease Shepard back down into a more comfortable sleep. Liara on the other hand did not subdue easily as her thoughts kept whirling around her head about Samantha. Did this all stem from her nearly dying when Sovereign crashed through the council chambers or was there something else Liara didn't know of…

* * *

Liara awoke to find the bed empty, save for herself of course, but where had Samantha gone she wasn't a well woman and had been advised not to get out of bed for a good week or so. Liara quickly hopped out of bed and checked the bathroom, still no sign of Shepard anywhere.

As quickly as she could the asari changed into some fresh clothes and exited the cabin. Although Liara trusted Sam's judgement she knew that she would try and get out of the rut that had become the constant coddling from nearly all of those around her. Then it hit her.

'_**She is probably inside the med bay…' **_Liara's mind was quick. The archaeologist slowly paced towards the med bay and punched the entry button.

"Good morning Dr. T'soni!" Chakwas motioned Liara to come over to where she and Sam were sat with their legs dangling off of one of the beds. Shepard flashed a sheepish smile as the asari slowly paced over toward to two women with her hands clasped behind her back, silently taking in her surroundings as she walked along.

Chakwas quietly slipped off the bed and strode over towards her desk picking up a data pad before making her way back over to where Shepard was currently sitting, with Liara standing opposite her.

"Here it is." Chakwas held out the data pad as Shepard took hold of it muttering thanks as she did so. She quickly began scanning the pads contents which brought a smile to her face that steadily grew wider and wider as she progressed further into whatever it was that she was actually reading.

After Sam had finished reading she chortled to herself as she passed the pad back to Chakwas who had her own wide smile upon her face as she watched Shepard's reaction to what she had just read.

"Why would they even keep that? It's not as if it mattered to anyone… anyone important anyway…" Shepard still smiled showing her pearly whites shining brilliantly under the med bays lights.

Chakwas cleared her throat as she arched an eyebrow in Sam's direction. "I can think of one person who this mattered to." The good doctor chuckled to herself as she waved the pad in front of her slightly.

"I said anyone 'important!'" Shepard spat sarcastically causing Chakwas's chuckle to turn into a full blown laugh.

"Uhm, excuse me for being slightly facetious here but I think that the principle of any school is quite an important person… don't you think?" Chakwas jested as she softly patted Shepard on the back, with the hint of laughter still fairly prominent within her voice.

"The principle may have been but his daughter… not so much." Shepard snorted quietly as she looked down to her feet that were swinging about slightly underneath the bed.

Both women laughed for a while leaving the young asari quite confused as to what they were referring to Shepard noticed the austere look that was displayed upon Liara's face. Sam opened her mouth as she had planned to begin explaining but her efforts were cut short when the door swished open revealing the two marines, Kaiden and Ashley who were chatting away about their current upgrades both armour and weaponry, not that they would be using them anytime soon but never the less it was imperative to stay on top of these things.

Ashley quickly noticed the three other pairs of eyes that were train only her and Alenko. "Oh, hi skipper! T'soni, Chakwas. There's nothing wrong is there?" Ash nodded at both of the doctors as she and Kaiden greeted them all.

"No, we were just looking at some of Shepard's old files that I found after…" Chakwas trailed off with a rolling hand movement as she left them both to finish the sentences off for themselves.

"Ahh… I see…" Ash cocked her chin up as she nodded knowingly in the skippers' direction. "Is there anything we should know about?" She quizzed devilishly as she nudged Sam's knee with her fist softly.

"Ha…" Kaiden laughed darkly to himself softly as did most others save for Liara who was still bewildered by what was going on mixed with a twinge of jealousy. Perhaps this was an inside joke or maybe just a human thing either way she would likely never understand what they were talking about. "Do we even want to know?" He asked sarcastically once more setting everyone off in laughter.

"Here." Chakwas passed Ashley the data pad as the pair held it between the two of them. Shepard blushed slightly giving Chakwas a mock-angry glare that failed against the grin that crept on to her face Chakwas reciprocated by gently elbowing Sam in the bicep causing the pair to chortle between them.

Ashley let out an amused gasp as she looked up at Sam with a shocked smile trying her hardest to stifle the laughter that was boiling up inside her throat. Just as swiftly as she had looked up the young marine had looked back down and resumed reading once again.

Another sarcastic gasp came from the pair only this time it was Kaidens turn another deep laugh came from the biotic marine as his shoulders jumped with more silent laughter, he never took his eyes of the page once unlike Ashley who would flash Shepard a grin every now and again.

Shepard watched painfully as the two read further and further into her teenage story. Sam looked around the small group and noticed that Liara looked a little lost, Sam silently lifted her hand and reached for the asari maidens own hand, once she had made contact with Liara's hand she gently squeezed it and slowly puled the asari towards her. Shepard parted her knees sliding Liara into the space she had just created. Liara slowly slid into said space with her back towards the commanders chest, she then felt to strong arms encircle her waist as they pulled her closer to the warmness of Sam's body which was now pressing against her back. Shepard then rested her chin lightly upon Liara's shoulder and softly nuzzled at the delicate folds that ran from the top of the asari maidens head to her upper back. This was a very sensitive spot on most if not all asari and Sam knew this fairly well.

Liara gasped just quiet enough for only Shepard's ears, this however only served in spurring Sam on as she traced her tongue agonizingly slowly up one of the soft folds leading up to Liara ear as she began to whisper sweet nothings to her. Shepard then proceeded to trace red hot little kisses down the archaeologist's neck, eventually reaching the little nook between Liara's shoulder and neck. Shepard replaced her chin back upon its perch –which was also Liara's shoulder- as she rested it there as she stared longingly at the beautiful face of the magnificent asari before her who had now closed her eyes as she succumbed to the spectres touch.

"What is on that data pad, my love?" Liara's voice was barely more than a whisper but she was close enough to her spectre that she could hear.

"I'll tell you later…" Shepard's voice was equally as quiet as Liara's. Shepard lifted her chin slightly off the young maidens should much to her dismay, Shepard lifted her mouth only inches away from the asari's delicate ear, her hot breath caressing it as she prepared herself to say the one thing that had never come easy to her but she felt that she would mean it for the rest of her days.

"Liara?" Shepard's voice became even quieter as she was now so close to her ear.

"Yes Shepard?"

"I love you too…" The young asari was unprepared for what the spectre had just said but she adored hearing it all the same. Liara spun around in Shepard's embrace and ran her hands over the commanders cheeks to the back of Sam's neck grasping her tightly, ferociously kissing her tongues an all right there on the med bay in front of all of their colleagues not that either of them could have cared less right now what with all the passion and emotion raging through the pairs bodies. Causing everyone within the room to look up from whatever they were doing to look at the sheer display of raw emotion before them.

"Garrus owes me twenty credits." Kaiden muttered to himself unable to take his eyes off the sight before his very eyes.

"What?" Ashley asked rather tersely

"Nothing…"


	6. Honesty and Deduction

**Mass Effect: An Epic Tale. Chapter 6**

Peewit22

A/N: Thanks everyone for the reviews and stuff much appreciated dudes! So far I have really enjoyed reading what you guys have had to say so far and would love to see more of it. Anyway on with the show! *Bows*

P.S: Some of the following may get a bit graphic, but I'm not going to tell you where… Work it out for yourselves, god dam nit! :D

Disclaimer: I would just like to say as much as I wish I did, I do not own Bioware or any of its characters. Enjoy people!

* * *

Liara –after a good ten minutes of being locked into a passionate kiss- decided to break away first even more so when she felt herself begin to breathe more rapidly. She feared that she may get carried away with Sam and could end up hurting her and on top of that the pair were also in a room filled with their peers and comrades.

"Samantha… I love you to." Liara whispered tenderly straight into Shepard's ear so that she would be the only one able to hear what was spoken. Liara smiled brightly as Sam buried her face into the crook of her neck as an attempt to cover the megawatt smile that now covered her face, but Liara could feel Shepard's smile pressing against her azure blue skin and giggled in turn adding her own joy as to what they had both just admitted to.

The pair were so lost in one another that they had failed to notice the trio – Garrus, Tali and Wrex – had now entered the room and were now looking every bit as confused as the rest of the occupants.

"Did we miss something?" Garrus asked rhetorically with what could only be assumed to be a smirk playing upon his face as he watched Liara softly run her finger up Shepard's throat and underneath her chin guiding Sam into another delicate kiss.

Kaidan turned around and began to whisper into what he thought was Garrus's ear. "20 Credits please…" The biotic marine unfolded his hand, palm up in front of Garrus motioning with his fingers for the Turian to hand over his winnings. Garrus –being the sore loser that he was- hesitated and snorted softly before complying with the young humans' demands. After watching Liara coddle Shepard for at least five minutes Garrus finally began to understand what was actually going on between the pair and smiled knowingly towards Kaidan whilst handing over the credits.

"You damned humans'… why do you always have to be so lucky." Wrex exclaimed as he lumbered his way towards Garrus, Kaidan and Ashley.

"I see Garrus isn't the only one losing out then?" Kaidan swapped quick glances between the smirking Turian and the slightly aggravated Krogan warlord.

"No." Ashley said tersely keeping her eyes focused upon her skipper and the resident archaeologist. "Tyrannosaurus Wrex here thought it'd be a good idea to bet with me. A Williams hasn't lost a bet since… as long as I can remember." She added rather smugly her eyes never wavering from Shepard and Liara.

The initial shock of seeing Liara and Shepard get so intimate with one another had worn of by now and the occupants of the room had broken out into their own conversations first there was Ashley, Kaidan, Garrus and Wrex in one group then there was Chakwas and Joker – who had first of all come down for his check-up but was now happily chatting away with the human doctor. And there was obviously Shepard and Liara who was now once again being embraced from behind by the powerful spectre as they chattered away nonchalantly about trivial things, Liara occasionally breaking their chatter with a quiet giggle. And finally there was the young quarian, Tali who had now taken to leaning against the wall as she watched Sam and Liara talking away to each other. A slight pang of jealousy kept spiking within her aimed towards Liara as she watched Shepard's embrace tighten around the young maidens' waist, Sam kissing her neck softly soliciting small quiet sighs and gasps of pleasure from Liara.

Tali didn't know why or even when she had started to feel this way about Liara and Shepard, but she did know that she didn't like it. She had thought that perhaps one day she would be able to tell Sam how she felt but now… well let's just say with Liara there she wouldn't be saying anything soon, or maybe ever. Tali had begun to care for Shepard in a more than just professional sense the first time that Sam had saved her life. Her knight in shining armour she had thought. Or so she had heard humans' say anyway. Now though, with Liara in the picture snapping up the one good thing she had in her life leaving Tali at a bit of a loose end. The young quarian had even thought of ways to get Liara out of the picture. Tali wasn't a cruel person and would never dream of hurting the asari maiden, but that didn't stop her mind from reeling on about the various ways to get her out of Sam's life. Tali had thought of setting Liara up with someone better than Shepard, better looks, better intelligence etcetera, but she knew that in the entire universe there was not a single soul better than Sam in anyway shape or form. Shepard was smart, beautiful and more than Tali could've ever wished for, but obviously that was what Liara had thought to.

There was only one strong point for Tali and that was that the asari maiden could offer Shepard everything that she could only dream of with Sam. Stability; a calm centre for Shepard's raging storm, marriage a family… Liara could provide Sam all of those things that Tali could literally only dream of sharing with Shepard. The young mechanist couldn't help stop the few tears that ran down her cheeks. Luckily for her no one would ever see them and so long as she kept her body movements confident and normal, they never need know that she was upset.

"I was just saying is all!" Shepard exclaimed teasingly, as Liara turned around in her tight embrace so that they were now face to face. Liara herself had a mock annoyed expression upon her face as she and Sam locked eyes. Liara also thinned her lips in an attempt to hide the smile that threatened them. The asari maiden raised both of her hands to softly cup Shepard's soft cheeks. She let her lips turn up into a grin and only grinned more and more as her lips got closer to Sam's. They finally met in a tender peck before Liara pulled away quickly, smiling once more as she observed Shepard's brooding expression. Sam tried her hardest not to crack, but she could no longer hold it up as she broke and chuckled softly, pressing her face into Liara's chest, just below her collarbone.

"I know exactly what you were 'just saying' and the answer my love is no." Liara had answered in her own authoritative manner as she teasingly ran her finger slowly up from the back of Shepard's neck up to the top of her head where she planted a delicate kiss, lingering slightly as she took in Sam's sweet scent.

Shepard groaned in playful annoyance, raising her head ever-so-slightly as she began placing her own soft kisses along the maidens' collarbone. She felt Liara arch into her a tiny bit granting Shepard more access, but just as Sam was about to comply she felt to gentle yet stern hands rest upon both of her shoulders. One of the hands was increasingly gentle as to avoid hurting the deep gash upon her shoulder where Saren had plunged his talon.

"Shepard." Sam looked up to Liara who was now waggling her index finger slowly as she made a "tut-tut" sound with her tongue. "Didn't I just say no?" It was a rhetorical question, but never the less Sam thought she would answer the archaeologist anyway.

"Arh! But this is torture!" Shepard lifted her head off Liara's chest and looked down toward her feet as she moaned and began to sulk. "I blame Chakwas!" Sam pointed her thumb over her shoulder offhandedly, not even looking behind her to see who she had actually pointed at. Liara let out a loving chuckle a she leaned forward towards Sam's ear and whispered something intangible to anyone but Sam.

"My love… That was Tali you just pointed at." Liara pointed out. Her tone sounded as if she was trying her hardest to stifle her own laughter.

"Same thing!" Shepard dismissed Liara's notion with a brief hand flick thus sending Liara over the edge. Unable to contain her laughter she snorted heavily, reaching her hands behind her spectres head pulling her head once again closer to her chest. Liara rested her chin upon Sam's head softly as the pad of her thumb began brushing against the soft black strands upon Shepard's head.

"I beg to differ, my love." Liara continued to soothe her love back into calmness. She simply held Sam close to her. Just feeling the warmth emanating from her lovers body was enough for her just now and she savoured it whilst it lasted, which knowing Sam's restlessness wouldn't be long.

"Shepard will join us won't you?" A rumbling voice sounded across the room, obviously Wrex she quickly realized releasing herself from Liara soft grip she looked up to see Garrus, Wrex, Kaidan and Joker looking at her apprehensively.

"That depends upon what it is that you are doing." Shepard asked suspiciously causing the all of the women in the room save for Tali to chuckle light-heartedly.

"We are going to play some blackjack, with credits and everything!" Joker exclaimed rather cheerily as he lifted up one of his crutches to jab Shepard as softly as he could on her bad shoulder.

Sam drew in a sharp breath as Jokers crutch made contact; she looked up to see a rather smarmy smile plastered across his face. To Sam that was an indication of war and she wasn't about to lose.

"Son of a…" Sam muttered under her breath. She quickly got to her feet –much to Liara's dismay- "Oh… It's on now bitch!" Shepard gave him one of her special death stares and before she knew it Joker had begun to flee, as fast as a man of crutches with hollow bones could anyway. Sam wasn't about to give up now, she made a b-line for the doorway just standing there for a few seconds to assess the mess hall, checking for all of Jokers possible escape routes. Once she had them all memorized she slowly paced out of the med bay entrance.

"Ash, come here a sec." Shepard whispered over her shoulder. An amused Ashley came slowly out of the door unsure as to what Sam's plan was thus far.

"Yes skipper?" Ash was also whispering now she had no idea why though, but never the less she went along with it.

By now most of the occupants of the med bay had quietly walked out into the mess area and were watching Shepard closely. The commander was now in her element, when it came to finding things or people Sam possessed Holmesian deduction capabilities and could find things out from what everyone else would perceive as inanimate, but to Sam it could and usually would mean so much more and in a time like the present Shepard's talents would come in handy.

Sam gently tugged the younger marine toward her. She handed Ash her crutches and began to whisper something into her ear. No one else could hear what was being said other than Ashley and Sam herself, but whatever it was it had made Ashley smile evilly as she turned towards the elevator.

"What are you doing, my love?" Liara whispered as she stepped up next to the taller woman looking at her intently trying to figure out her intentions. Shepard didn't answer her lovers question because she didn't have to. The alliance pilot slowly crept out from the bulkhead that covered Sam's cabin door from the rest of the mess hall with a rather smug look upon his face, until he saw Shepard stood there.

Sam let of an evil laugh as she spotted the young pilot exit his hiding place. "What the… Shepard! But you just… down the elevator…" Joker couldn't get his mouth to work with his voice. Shepard confidently limped over to him placing stern hands upon both of his shoulders, with just enough force to bruise him but not quite enough to break his bones. Joker winced as the sudden dull throb that he felt on his skin as his eyes darted from the affected area to Shepard's own olive green eyes.

"Is this what I get for messing with you?" Joker was genuinely worried that she might actually break his bones, but in reality he knew that she would never do such a thing on purpose -by accident maybe- but on purpose… never.

"No. That's what you get for hiding in such a ridiculous place. This is what you get for messing with me." Shepard flicked the beak of Jokers hat so that it fell softly to the floor, before turning back to the small crowd taking her position next to Liara, Shepard watched the pilot intently with and amused look upon her face.

"I'd like to see you pick that up." Shepard crossed her arms over her chest in her own characteristic way.

"Uhm… I can't commander." Joker said solemnly as he poked at the hat with his crutch. Shepard walked back over towards the rather mopey looking alliance lieutenant. Picking up his hat as she went along.

"Don't mess with me…" Sam lent forward and whispered into his ear, placing the hat neatly back upon his head. "And yeah, I think I will join you guys in some blackjack." She added before stepping away from his now stiff form, motioning him towards the large table in the centre of the mess hall. Joker loosened himself up a bit before walking towards the table.

"Damn Shepard, I'd hate to see what you do to your enemies." Joker teased as he began easing himself into a chair.

"Yeah, unfortunately for me you don't see many Geth walking around with hats on…" Shepard teased back causing Wrex to let out a dull bark quickly followed by the duo toned chortle of Garrus.

"I'd almost pay to see it though! I'd pay even more to see one with a top hat!" Joker exclaimed amusedly, pulling a thick wad of cards out of his pocket. He slid them across the table in Sam's direction, but Shepard passed the deck over to Chakwas who was going to be their dealer; the rest of the group – Liara, Tali and Ashley – had decided to sit down and watch for a while, mainly because neither Liara nor Tali understood the game so far and Ashley because she had decided to guide them through it.

Chakwas dealt the cards out deftly between herself, Garrus, Shepard, Kaidan, Wrex and Joker before they began to play.

Half an hour later and Shepard was up nearly one hundred credits, leaving a rather disgruntled Joker in her wake. By now Ashley had given up on trying to teach Tali about the rules of blackjack –Liara had picked it up relatively quickly- but Tali was having a hard time of it, so the three women had decided to stop and participate in some 'small-talk' as Ashley would call it. Every now and again their conversation would be broken by a very excited Liara giving blackjack guidance to her lover. Ashley had gathered that Shepard knew exactly how to play the game down to a 'T' but she humoured Liara and let her have her little moments, which Ashley had thought to be a very sweet gesture in itself.

"Hit me please doc." Shepard asked as she was passed a card from Chakwas.

"Aw man this sucks!" Kaidan exclaimed as he and everyone else once again lost to Shepard. "How do you keep getting all of these 21's? Honestly how?" Kaidan propped his elbow up on the table, resting his weary head in his hand.

"Are you kidding?" Garrus cut in with his distinctive voice. "It's Dr. T'soni! The doctor is like Shepard's lucky charm!" Garrus teased soliciting laughter from all of the tables' occupants. Especially Shepard.

"Garrus are YOU kidding! This is all Sam Shepard right here!" The spectre stifled her laughter as she looked at Liara's joke affronted expression. "Sorry babe…" Shepard hung her head in mock shame at her words, but she couldn't quite hide the smile that had worked its way on to her face.

Liara, Ashley and Kaidan laughed loudly as the observed Sam's back shiver slightly at the inability to hold in the quickly escaping laughter. Liara softly encircled her arms around her spectre pulling Sam close to her chest. "What will I ever do with you my love?" Liara asked teasingly. Shepard raised her head and looked directly into Liara's eyes.

"You could always sell me on the extranet." Shepard stated with simulated seriousness. Liara genuinely laughed at the sheer preposterousness of Sam's suggestion.

"I think we all know who would be the first to buy you…" Ashley looked around the table as each and every person save for Liara began to grin maniacally.

"VERNER!" Everybody at the table shouted at the same time in a higher pitched voice than usual. The shouting eventually turned into laughter and even Shepard joined in over time.

"Will you give me a break over that?" Sam spoke between laughs, she had mainly aimed it at Ashley but Joker had also unfortunately been let in on their little 'encounter' with Shepard's biggest fan.

"No way commander! You can't keep avoiding the topic of your crazy fan-boy stalker forever you know…" Everyone around the table – especially Liara- nodded at Jokers statement. "And anyway… have you told your "Friend" that you are taken now?" Joker asked in an authoritative as he motioned his index finger from Liara to Shepard and back again.

"No, I haven't told him because I don't need to; his feelings were never mutual so you know… yeah…" Shepard replied calmly to Jokers provocations. Sam knew how much Joker would tear apart any sign of emotion or weakness, he was worse than that Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani news reporter for just that. Shepard knew it was only a spot of light-hearted fun, but she just wished that she didn't have to have this conversation in front of Liara. Shepard and Co had not picked up the young asari when they bumped into Sam's number one fan and lamented the fact that she would now have to explain this to her new found love.

"Commander, I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but that Verner guy wouldn't stop even if a transport shuttle hit him…" Kaidan added thoughtfully as he looked Shepard straight in the eyes. The rest of the table chortled lightly at the thought of what Kaidan had just said.

"I know what you guys are saying, but c'mon… seriously do you think the man would be so insane to attack the Normandy and its occupants, just for me." At Sam's statement the residents currently at the table except herself and Liara, conferred quietly with one another before reaching their consensus.

"We all vote… Yes commander." Joker finished as the rest of the tables' occupants nodded in succession with each other.

"Samantha? who is this Verner fellow?" Liara asked Shepard, staring intently into her lovers eyes.

"I'll talk to you about it later, Liara." Shepard dismissed quietly.

"Sam, at this rate we won't be getting any sleep at all this evening. Why don't you just tell me now, everyone else seems aware of what transpired between you two." Liara said rather tersely. If Ashley didn't know any better she could have sworn that there was a hint of jealousy in the young asari's voice.

The entire table save for Shepard and Liara, once again began to confer amongst them, again, once they had reached a consensus Kaidan decided to speak up acting as the voice for the rest of the table.

"Ages ago now, there was this guy… this crazy guy, called Conrad Verner who- from what me and the chief here saw." Kaidan motioned his hand gently in Ashley's direction, earning him a cheery wave from the young female marine. "Anyway, from what me and the chief saw, the guy was absolutely obsessed with all things- Shepard." This time Kaidan motioned his arm in Sam's direction, once again gaining him a cheery wave, this time though it was from Shepard. The table laughed softly before settling back down. "He was so crazy about her that he even asked for a photo at one point."

"You cannot be serious?" Liara was astonished at the lengths that some people would go to just to meet the one they "love" but it was hard for her to say anything… it took a near death experience to bring her and Samantha together and Liara was pretty sure that there would be plenty of other people all over the universe just dying to meet Shepard –THE Shepard- much to her annoyance.

"Deadly serious, thinking about it now… what was the last thing he asked for?" Kaidan asked once again looking straight into Shepard's eyes.

"Oh right, the last time, Let me see… First it was the autograph, then it was the picture and then- yeah that's it… he asked me to recommend him for a spectre candidacy." Shepard snapped out of her reminiscence with the stern sound of Kaidan clicking his fingers together and tapping the table firmly with the same digits.

"That's right commander! Can you believe that? The guy actually thought he had what it takes to be a spectre." Kaidan added bitterly as he shook his head loosely in disapproval at the blonde haired man's actions. "I mean for such a big commander Shepard fan he obviously didn't know much about how it came about for you, right?" Shepard nodded, sharing the older marine's thoughts to the letter.

"Yeah… wonder if he survived the battle of the Citadel." Sam mused. Staring down at her feet for fear that somebody around the table might blame her for his death, that's if he did die during the attack.

"I don't think so commander. Didn't he say he had a wife that he had to get back to? On Earth?" Ashley half queried and half stated. She herself stared towards her boots, most likely for the same reason that Shepard was to.

"Yes chief, you are right! And thank god too. Too many people died that day, let alone that guy to." Kaidan answered for a still musing Shepard. "Everyone else may think otherwise but he was kind of a good guy… in his own kooky kind of a way." Everyone around the table except for Liara nodded, in agreement with the biotic marines' statement.

The mess hall went comfortably quiet for a few minutes before Dr. Chakwas stood up, claiming how tired she was and about her need for sleep. Slowly Wrex and Garrus stood up also stating their need for sleep- well… Garrus's need for sleep – nobody even knew if Wrex ever did sleep at all, or more to the point where he did sleep.

"Well guys that's me done." Steadily Sam got to her feet. Out of everyone at the table she had most right to be tired. So far she had managed to hide it well, it didn't seem hamper her ability to make and finish the reports that Pressly had let her do, if not for her own sanity then for something just to pass the time.

"What about your credits commander?" Kaidan shouted to the steadily retreating form of the spectre.

"Keep em'. Trust me I have more than enough for myself as it is." And with that Shepard was back in her cabin preparing herself for sleep.

* * *

Back outside however the comfortable silence still lingered within the half empty mess hall. Joker shifted himself so he was now sat in Sam's old chair next to Liara. Ashley had followed suit and was now sitting in Garrus's now empty chair, placing her in between Kaidan and Tali.

"So Liara how is everything… Shepard-wise?" Ashley asked leaning forward slightly in her seat, lowering her tone a tad so as not to wake any of the sleeping crew members in the sleeper pods.

"Samantha is doing very well actually, considering her injuries." Liara seemed to positively glow as she spoke about the woman that she loved so dearly. "Speaking of which..." Liara lifted herself out of her own seat now. She stood straight brushing some of the creases out of her scientists' garb. "…I should probably go and check on how she is doing." Liara swiftly left the mess hall and entered Sam's cabin, which was now pitch black save for the light emanating off of the monitor next to Sam's side of the bed.

On further inspection Liara noticed the lack of spectre within the warm comfort of the bed. The young asari furrowed her brow slightly as she looked around to see where Samantha was. Liara heard a soft laugh cut through the air from somewhere deep within the darkness, causing her to knit her brows together even more tightly.

"I'm here Liara." A clicking noise sounded and the new dim light revealed Shepard sitting in a plush black leather office chair, leaning back within it, her feet resting upon the desk in front of her. Sam had now got changed however; she was now wearing her black cotton gym shorts and matching N7 t-shirt and was also holding a data pad loosely between her long digits.

"Why are you still awake my love? You need to rest." Liara walked over to Shepard, and rested her hand softly upon the injured spectres shoulder. There was genuine worry and concern surrounding the maidens' voice but she knew not to jump to conclusions before hearing her lover out.

"I just received this memo from Councillor Anderson. It seems as though he- or more rightly so, the entire council- want to meet with me tomorrow… to discuss who knows what." Despite her sour words she spoke in an odd, cheerful manner that told Liara that there was something amiss somewhere.

"Samantha, you are in no condition to go running around the Citadel right now. Can you not call them and rearrange for a later date perhaps?" The asari archaeologist practically pleaded with her lover. She was afraid of the repercussions that would follow if Shepard put herself under too much stress.

"I can't love, I'm sorry but I have to meet with them bright and early tomorrow." Sam threw the data pad on to her desk, watching it clatter for a second, before turning around to face the beautiful young maiden before her. "If it makes you feel any better I can assure you that I feel fine." Sam whispered into Liara's ear as she pulled the asari in for an embrace.

Liara knew that was a lie, it always was whenever Shepard said she felt 'fine.' If the spectre had used any other verb to describe her current condition Liara may just have believed her, but 'fine' more often than not meant the opposite of its true meaning when it came down to Samantha.

"No! You do not feel "fine" I can tell by that look in your eyes that pained expression you give whenever you make a move. So don't try to tell me that you are fine because evidently you are not!" Liara argued, after which she cleared her throat, exchanging a bashful smile as she did so. "My love…" She finished, as she attempted to cover up for her own embarrassment for raising her voice.

"Hmm…" Sam pondered internally about the woman before her. How much did this beautiful young, brilliant woman really care about her? And more to the point was Shepard that obvious whilst trying to keep her pain under wraps?

"Come sweetheart; let us get you some rest…" Liara gently guided Shepard towards the bed, watching her intently as she lowered herself on to the mattress. "Now are you comfortable my love?" Liara quizzed as she tucked Sam in beneath the cosy warmth of the sheets.

"Yes mother." Liara chucked whole-heartedly before placing a delicate kiss upon the uninjured side of Samantha's forehead. "Good I will be back shortly; I just have to prepare for rest myself." Liara reached into the drawer on her side of the bed. She pulled out her white versions of Shepard's current night-ware before walking steadily towards the en suite bathroom.

Liara was now appropriately attired and comfortable once again in Samantha's bed. Shepard with her arms wrapped tightly around the maidens' waist, both of their bodies pressed hotly against one another. Liara could feel Shepard's breathing; steady and shallow in comparison to her own. Once Liara was satisfied that Sam was asleep and comfortable with it, she also fell into the dark depths of sleep.

* * *

Liara awoke but this time she had realized that Shepard was still in the bed next to her. The young asari smiled as she rolled over, resting her head upon Sam's chest. She let out a content sigh as she felt her lover stir.

"Good morning gorgeous." Shepard greeted the beautiful asari groggily. She kissed Liara's her forehead, squeezing her tightly as she did so. "As much as I would love to stay here with you all day, I really ought to get ready for this so called 'meeting'." Sam went to get out of the bed when she felt a soft grip around her wrist. "What's wrong babe?" She was genuinely confused as to what her lover was doing plus Liara had that worried look upon her face.

"You don't have to go, my love. You still retain the option to stay here… with me." Liara suggested.

Shepard felt her heart sink. She would love nothing more than to stay with the woman of her heart but Sam knew full well that she couldn't just skip out on the council, especially Councillor Velarn. Shepard had had close to enough of that bastard Turian council member and she was also getting pretty sick of his snide remarks, shifty looks and air quotations. Their last meeting was when they had decided to lock down the Normandy and even then Sam felt like unclipping her pistol, and throwing at his stupid, smug face but she knew deep down that she had more self-control then that.

"I know… but I have to go. Who knows what they want me for? And by the by, you could come with me." Shepard reminded Liara teasingly. The last thing she wanted was to traipse Liara out into the public eye at the moment, but her lover did have a mind of her own… and a very powerful mind it was indeed.

Liara pondered the spectres mock-suggestion for a few minutes before hopping out of bed herself. "Perhaps I should come with you." Liara delivered the sentiment in such a lovingly stern way that made Sam realize that there was next to no chance of telling the young maiden otherwise. All the spectre could do right now was to just agree with her love and maybe it would earn her some points with the young asari in the future to.

"It is your decision babe." Shepard muttered half-heartedly as she walked over to the bathroom to get showered and changed into her BDU's.

Liara shook her head lovingly and rested her hands upon her hips as she watched her spectre sulk. "Yes, I do think it is best. And I am almost certain that Chakwas and the rest of the ground team would think so to. They all care about you Samantha, if you push yourself too hard whilst out of the Citadel and there was nobody there to help you we would never forgive ourselves." Again the asari's voice carried a stern yet loving tone. Sam knew deep-down that Liara was right, but she never liked being proved wrong when it came to her own capabilities and this conversation was heavy with exactly that.

"I know you would… but you needn't. I don't need to be coddled babe; I am capable enough of movement. And right now that is all I need." Liara looked at her lover warmly as she approached her. The maiden took hold of both the spectres hands raising them up so they were all that stood between them.

"No Samantha, that is exactly what you need right now… to be coddled. Right at this very moment you are in a deep amount of pain." Liara run the pad of her thumb delicately over the back of Samantha's slightly trembling hand. Shepard looked down to notice the trembling as well and let out a heavy sigh as she stared at the intermingled smaller azure and larger- tanned digits. Noticing that her own were still shaking.

"I'm sorry Liara… for going off at you like that… I… I do hurt, but nobody else can know that… ok?" Her voice was barely a whisper, but it didn't have to be. Liara knew her lover was in pain. Once again the little crinkle in Samantha's brow told her everything she would never tell the spectre that though. It was the only truthful way that she could find out if Sam was in pain and the young asari planned on keeping it that way.

"I know my love… I know." Liara pulled Samantha closer to her so that the spectres head was resting upon her chest. "Where is the pain Samantha?" the asari's voice was soft, caring and just as quiet as Shepard's had been. Underneath Liara's calm exterior, she just longed to put the commander back into bed -sedate her if need be- Liara knew it was not an option though; Samantha needed to meet with the council. The five of them had a lot to discuss involving the Normandy, its repairs and even its crew… especially the non-humans.

Samantha said noting a she slowly lifted herself out from the archaeologists' warm embrace. All she did do was point at the large band aid that covered the very-deep laceration. The cut was bone deep in fact and was oddly straight save for the abrupt southward direction change level with the end tip of her eyebrow. The nasty gash ran from the middle of her right eyebrow and ended just beneath the spectres cheekbone.

"I think I should take you to Chakwas." Liara's voice was now highly worried as she watched Sam's jaw clench and unclench with every passing breath; her eyes were also shut tightly and the pinch upon the bridge of her nose was now more prominent than ever. The worried asari reached for her lovers visibly shaking clenched fists, a little trickle of blood ran in between her knit together fingers, as her nails dug little semi-circles into the palms of her hands.

Taking the commanders hand, the pair slowly walked through the empty mess hall as they made their way to the med bay. As they entered the med bay Chakwas looked up from behind her desk noticing the slightly hunched and paler looking spectre standing next to a rather concerned looking Liara.

The human doctor studied Sam for any visible injuries but none were to be found leaving the doctor a bit stumped. "What appears to be the problem?" Chakwas herself now had a rather concerned tone of voice. She looked back to Liara, who was still watching Shepard's sharp breathing intently. Chakwas laid a comforting hand upon the maidens shoulder, meeting Liara's pale blue gaze with her own forest green one. "Liara… tell me what's going on?" As a doctor, Chakwas had the ability to remain calm in even the most emotional taxing situations.

"Her head wound is flaring up… I didn't know what else to do-" She was cut off mid-sentence by Chakwas's stern but kind hand. Liara herself had also been keeping her calm well, even though the thought of something else bad happening to the woman that she loved shook her right down to her very core, but for Shepard's sake she needed to keep it together. And keep it together she would.

"You did the right thing bringing her here Dr. T'soni. Let's just get the commander to a bed shall we?" Chakwas guided Shepard out of Liara's arms and got her to sit upon the edge of the nearest medical bed. "Ok then… Shepard? I'm going to take this band aid off now. Understood?" Shepard nodded her limp head weakly as Chakwas began to slowly peel the band aid away from her sore skin.

Shepard drew in a sharp breath as the warm air of the med bay hit the painful laceration covering the top right hand side of her face. Once the band aid was completely removed and Chakwas had stepped aside, letting the asari see the full extent of her lovers' injury. Liara gasped sharply and had to hold on to the bed opposite from Sam to support herself.

Shepard made a great effort to try and cast a comforting gaze of to the young archaeologist but it sent white-hot pain lancing through every single nerve behind her eye and the surrounding area to even attempt it for more than a Nano-second.

"This isn't very good at all." Chakwas muttered, more to herself than to anyone else.

"What? What is wrong?" Liara immediately stepped over to stand behind Chakwas. The human doctor studied the blood red and bone white wound closely with a small torch.

"It appears that the commander has reacted badly to the omni-gel that we used to disinfect the cut the first time around." The doctor didn't quite believe what she was saying, but it was the truth… "It would seem as though our rough and tough commander has an allergy." Even through all of the seriousness surrounding the situation Chakwas managed to crack a smile at the newest revelation.

Shepard was having trouble keeping her eyes open now as the two doctors talked amongst each other for a few minutes before focusing back upon Sam.

"Anyway, back to the matter at hand." Chakwas turned around to face the now delirious spectre. "Excuse me commander? Are you feeling drowsy?" Chakwas rested both of her hands up and delicately rested them upon Samantha's shoulders to support her slightly limp frame.

Shepard chuckled loudly at the innocent question, before raising both of her hands up to rest them upon those of the human doctors. "Hey there doc!" Another loud chuckle and a snort. "Did you know… that you like… have hair?" Shepard seemed to ask in all seriousness which was only broken with an occasional chortle. "But Liara hasn't… why is that doc?" Came yet another question from Shepard. This time around the query had an air of humour about it, but still it was a serious question.

"I think the wound is infected. That would explain why she is feeling a bit delirious." Chakwas tried to guide the commander back on to the bed behind her, but her efforts were met head on by Shepard's strong resistance. Liara watched in confusion as Chakwas pulled a pneumatic syringe off of the nearest equipment cart and began loading it up with, what Liara could only presume to be a sedative.

"I'm sorry Shepard, but this is for your own good." The human doctor gently pressed the device against Sam's jugular, before she released the sedative she gave a quick glance over to Liara who just nodded in approval with Chakwas's actions. And with that the syringe released its contents with a small hiss. Chakwas grabbed the spectre softly and laid her down upon the bed.

Both doctors quietly observed the sleeping spectre for a few minutes before turning back to another. "What will happen to Samantha now, doctor Chakwas?" Liara's eyes locked firmly with the doctors own.

"Well right now we should get XO Pressly to call the council and rearrange their meeting for a later date… I'm sure councillor Anderson will make them see reason if they don't straight away." Chakwas let out a sigh as she looked back towards Shepard and the nasty blood-red cut that marred her otherwise perfect face. "But first we need to disinfect and then re-stich that gash back up-" Chakwas's prognosis was interrupted when she looked back over to Liara, who now had silent tears gently gliding down her soft blue cheeks. The older human instinctively pulled the young asari into a tight embrace, stroking Liara's back comfortingly with the pad of her thumb.

"I knew of Samantha's pain all this time and yet I did nothing! What kind of a person does that to the one they love?" Liara sobbed softly into the crook of the humans' neck whilst struggling with her own ragged breathing.

"Samantha is a strong willed woman. I bet it must have taken a stern tone and some hard evidence to get her to admit that she was in pain in the first place. Am I wrong?"

"No. You are quite correct in fact. Before she admitted it we were discussing the matter of her feeling like she was being "coddled." I told her that if there was one thing that she needed right now, it was coddling." Liara finished with a small smirk as she gently wiped away a few tears.

Chakwas snorted lightly. "You are right Liara. Right now she just needs to take it easy and relax a little, but Samantha Sidera Shepard is not known for heeding to peoples advice… at least not very often anyway."

"Her middle name is Sidera? It's a beautiful name…" Liara muttered weakly as her gaze fell back to the woman of her heart.

"Yes it is isn't it?" Both of the doctors mused for a while, before Chakwas got back to business. "I should really begin patching her up now. You are welcome to stay if you would like but it may not be the prettiest of sights." It was a genuine offer from Chakwas and as much as Liara would have liked to have stayed by her loves side she knew that she would have to get someone to tell Pressly about rearranging the council meeting and then she would have to let the crew know about what was going on, more specifically: Ashley. The two human females had grown quite close over the recent months and had become like dear friends so Liara had thought it prudent to tell Ashley first.

"I would like to, but I have to tell Ashley about what's going on."

"Of course Dr. T'soni, I understand completely. Oh and Dr. T'soni, There is no need to tell XO Pressly I will do so myself."

"Thank you Dr. Chakwas, that was very kind of you." Liara's praise was genuine and Chakwas knew it, but she was only doing her duty to the Normandy and to its commander.

"Just doing my job." Chakwas replied light-heartedly a she began working on once more disinfecting Shepard's head wound.

* * *

Liara exited the med bay with a calm exterior. With Samantha in the care of Chakwas and her medical team, Liara had no doubt that her love would get the best treatment possible.

"Hey Dr. T'soni!" Liara was quickly pulled out of her reverie by the familiar warm voice of Kaidan Alenko. The man who had almost stolen her love away from her, but all of that was behind them now; it was all said and done and at the end of the day Shepard had chosen her and not the handsome older marine and besides Liara wasn't one for petty grudges, although some would argue that it was not a petty matter. Liara always knew somewhere in the back of her mind that Sam would always have come to her. They had both realised that they shared a special bond, an unknown bond, but all the more special for it.

"Greetings lieutenant Alenko. How are you feeling?" The pair stood at Kaidans normal spot, right next to the computer terminal that would never or more rightly so could never be fixed.

"Please… call me Kaidan. And thank you Dr. T'soni I am well, as are you I hope?" Liara nodded weakly, not trusting herself to open her mouth right now just in case all of her thoughts and feelings came pouring out on to the poor unsuspecting biotic marine.

"And I insist that you call me Liara." She said with mock-authority.

Both of them chuckled for a few seconds before a rather serious look fell on to Kaidans normally composed face. "Is everything okay Dr- ah… Liara? I can't help but notice that Shepard hasn't been seen all day." Liara's own face fell into seriousness now. The young asari quietly cleared her throat in an effort to rid herself of the horrid lump that had formed itself there.

"Yes… there is some news involving the commander but I must tell someone specific before anyone else. I'm sorry but I hope you understand." Kaidan nodded his head confidently as he listened to the obviously upset asari. He knew that it was something bad; Liara had that look in her eyes, like just after the Noveria ground team came back aboard the Normandy after seeing Lady Benezia, in her deranged state of mind.

"Yes, I understand completely Liara. Thank you for telling me as much as you did." Kaidan tipped his head forward in a nod as he watched the slightly worse-for-where asari make her way around the bulkhead to the lift. Letting out a deep sigh, the biotic got back to work upon the blasted computer terminal that had been giving him jip ever since the first time he had touched it.

* * *

As Liara began her decent in the unbelievably slow elevator, she was struck with yet more emotions. It took the young asari very little time to discern what the cause for these emotions were.

'_**I miss Shepard…'**_ Liara realised. She had only just left the spectres side but she was already longing to be right back with her.

The elevator finally reached its destination, once more snapping Liara out of her thoughts. Once the asari had adjusted to the dim lighting of the shuttle bay she proceeded over to Williams who was coincidently just cleaning up the skippers' sniper rifle.

"Liara it's a surprise to see you down here. What's up?" Ashley laid the sniper rifle down gently upon the hard metal table. Taking care not to damage the skippers' favourite weapon. Once the chief was sure the rifle was secure she turned to face Liara who was wringing her hands together slightly… which was never a good sign when it came to the doc.

Liara once again cleared her throat; the lump had a way of coming back whenever she even thought about Samantha and that terrible cut down her face. "Uhm… I need to talk to you… about Sam." Ashley's smile suddenly collapsed, turning into one of worry and curiosity.

"Of course." Ashley motioned her hand at the flat crate behind her. Sitting herself down on it, Liara taking the space next to her. "What's going on Liara? The skipper isn't hurt is she?" Ash whispered, desperate for a positive answer. Liara just stared into her charcoal coloured eyes. The asari's own eyes were a mixture of confusion and hurt which just spurred Ashley's worry further. "Liara, tell me what's going on… please?" her voice was now a hoarse whisper.

"Samantha… had an allergic reaction to the omni-gel that Dr. Chakwas used to disinfect the laceration upon her forehead… I had to take her to Chakwas myself. She says that Shepard should be fine, but that she would have to re-do Samantha's sutures. I just thought that I would let you know because she wasn't able to make the meeting that the council had arranged." Liara felt slightly better for getting that off her chest.

Ashley just stared at the floor by her feet for a while, as she pondered what had just been said. "So she WILL be okay right?" She asked more than a little tersely.

Liara nodded her head confidently in response to the dark haired marines' question. "Am I the only one who knows? I mean other than you and Dr. Chakwas." Again Liara just nodded her head, but this time it was a little weaker. "And has Pressly contacted the council yet?" Another nod from Liara. Ashley had decided to give up on getting the asari to talk to her and opted to hug her instead in an effort to soothe the obviously upset woman. Williams tightened the hug when she felt Liara sob softly into her shoulder.

"Hey… hey… c'mon now, Sam will be fine. She's a tough one, and she's been through worse and survived." Ashley calmly soothed the poor asari. Just watching how much it had affected Liara, how worried the archaeologist was. There was no doubt in Ash's mind that Liara was in love with the skipper.

Liara chuckled quietly at the young marines observations, whilst she wiped away her tears with both hands. "Still one has to wonder if her luck will ever run out." It was as if the asari was talking more so to herself than to Ashley, but for arguments sake Ash answered anyway.

"No way!" Ashley exclaimed teasingly. "The skippers luck with never run dry… I mean it can't if she managed to find someone who cares for her as much as you do." Still sticking with the amused tone of voice, the pair burst into laughter once more. Once they had both recollected themselves Ashley steadily got to her feet, offering her hand to the maiden who was still feeling the slight after effects of their shared laughter. Liara took the offer and was slowly pulled to her feet by Williams.

"Let's go and check up on the skipper." Both women walked towards the elevator slowly. Liara once again simply nodded her head in response to Ashley's question only this time it was a truly confident one.

"Yes let us do that." She agreed as she pressed the button for the mess hall, just as confidently as she had nodded her head earlier.

* * *

The two women sat upon the table just outside the med bay. They had both opted to have something to drink whilst they waited for Chakwas's word so that they could go in. For Ash it was the usual black coffee and for Liara it was the usual asari tea. The two of them got comfortable in their seats, taking careful sips out of their piping hot beverages.

"So Liara…. You and Shepard? I remember the days when you just had a crush on her, but now you two are like… together. How did that come to be anyway?" Ash asked in between sips, keeping her eyes completely focused upon Liara as she did so.

"I am not really sure to be honest. We were just lying in bed when I asked her if we should be classed as item and luckily for me she said yes." Liara smiled behind her mug at the memory. For Liara that had been the best moment of her life so far and she would always remember that time as the day that she and Shepard officially became a 'Couple.'

"Oh so you two have… y'know…" Ashley loosened one of her hands from around the mug and made a rolling barrel movement with her hand, raising her eyebrows suggestively as she did so.

After a few seconds Liara had got the gist of what Ashley was insinuating and felt a blush begin working its way along her neck and up to her cheeks. "NO! Oh god no! I didn't mean to insinuate otherwise! I am… so sorry chief-" Liara's apologetic rant was cut short with a truly amused laugh came from Williams.

"I know Liara I was just kidding. The skipper has been injured since before you two hooked up right? And I bet twenty credits that Chakwas would have forced you to promise not to get into frisky activities with Shepard or else… besides, I know for a fact that you miss prothean expert, would have thought it to irresponsible to break such a promise. Am I close to the truth?" Ashley had a wide grin on her face as she listed her observations and Liara couldn't help but laugh at her accuracy.

"Unsurprisingly, you are right chief but personally I don't think that I and Shepard are at that particular level in our relationship yet." Another blush ran into Liara's cheeks as she felt as though she had already told Williams too much about her and Samantha. "I am sorry if I have said to much chief." Liara said more calmly this time as she softly blew the steam away from her mug before taking another sip.

"No, no, no! This is girl talk; it's what we girls do. Usually we talk about boys or girls or… whatever, that we like or are seeing and discuss what it is that we like about them or what they've done wrong today. That's just how some human women roll. One of those human women being me so come on, spill." Ashley leaned forward in her chair, resting both of her elbows upon the table with the half full cup still squeezed tightly between both of her hands.

Liara smiled brightly as she swirled the remnants of her tea around in circles before finally polishing it off and resting it back upon the shiny table. "Believe it or not, we asari have a similar way of doing things. Seeing as we are a mono-gendered race in which everyone insists that we are female, we have grown attached to other races customs. I myself believe in discretion, but this 'girl talk' sounds like an interesting concept… maybe I shall try it." Ashley smiled brightly herself now as she realised how much she had grown to enjoy the company of the asari. She wasn't like Shepard; Shepard was a tough nut. Around her Ashley would talk about weapons, armour and would also share drinking stories with her as well as tales of her love conquests, but Liara was different, Ashley could be the girly girl that she was deep down around her… and Tali to. It wasn't that she couldn't be like that around Sam too. Quite often Shepard would just sit and listen to Ashley's stories about her family and how much she missed them.

"When did you first realize that you liked the skipper?" Ash squinted and stared jokingly at Liara who chortled to herself as she tried to recall the memory. Liara herself knew exactly where she was when she first realized it, but she wasn't about to tell it to Ashley right off the bat. After a few seconds of falsely pondering, Liara decided to share.

"On Therum." The asari replied tersely. Ashley wasn't exactly shocked, she knew herself that the commander was a very attractive woman, but to have that kind of affect over an asari maiden. Then again when Ashley had thought it over twice she had remembered the consort saying that there was something within her, a spark that just takes a person… and you have to flow with it.

"I thought that there was something there between you two on Therum. Was it like a 'love at first sight' kind of deal?" Ashley took another sip out of her still boiling hot coffee.

Liara shook her head in disagreement with the marines' question. "No, nothing of the sort. There was just something about her that made me want to follow her anywhere, even to death itself if needs be. At first I just substituted it for her exceptional leadership skills, but it wasn't until I went out with her planet side with her that I realized that it ran deeper than mere leadership skills, it became curiosity… curiosity about the prothean vision that was implanted into her mind. Sometimes after missions she would do her usual rounds, speaking to people here and there, and more often than not she would end up coming to visit me as well. She just has this aura about her, one that makes you nervous in her presence... After a few of her visits I simply felt that feeling slip away… she was just so kind and understanding towards me, even more so after I had told her that I did not have much In the way of experience whilst dealing with people. And we just drew closer and closer since then." Liara finished with a distant, content look in her pale blue eyes and that thoughtful smile back upon her face.

Ashley had never seen in all of her days in the universe, two people that were completely meant for one another. Shepard was the powerful storm, the raging fire, the destructive hurricane and Liara would always be her calm centre. Williams smiled inwardly, but this time she was the one hiding it behind her mug.

'_**The perfect couple…' **_Ash thought to herself. _**'Yet if these two would have met under any other circumstances they would have probably never have thought about the other twice." **_The young marine was lost in her own thoughts, as was Liara. _**'Why is the universe such an odd place? I could have already met "the one" and would not even be aware of it…" **_Ashley snapped herself out of her reverie for a brief moment sparing a look at the young asari, who she had noticed, was still stuck in her own mind. _**'If only I could just be half as happy as the skipper makes Liara feel and vice-versa that would be enough for me.' **_For the final time the marine came back out of her quizzical mind. Once again she looked back at Liara, who was still racking her memories to find the ones that contained her beloved Sam.

Liara was completely oblivious to everything and anything that Ashley was trying to say to her. Currently there was only one person who had stolen the doctors' thoughts and that one person was Samantha Sidera Shepard. Liara really was racking her brain for memories, watching them all as if they were real vids. The asari did not have the eidetic memory of the drell race; they were more like the humans' in that they were more able to focus upon a very good set of memories or very bad set of them, missing out all of the irrelevant ones in between.

* * *

**_It had likely been two days, possibly three since the young azure blue maiden had accidently locked herself inside the mysterious prothean device and she was beginning to wonder whether or not anyone was going to come and rescue her. In her mind it was highly unlikely, no one else knew that she was down here… other than a few humans and the old university friend who had helped her get on-site with this amazing find in the first place. The soft rumblings and distant whispers of the mining crew had long since vanished and although Liara did not know them all well enough to get hysteric over their apparent deaths it was still enough to strike up a pang of sorrow in her otherwise empty stomach._**

_**The young archaeologist was rather ****forcefully ripped away from her thoughts when she thought that she could hear the faint clapping of thunder, but on second thought that would have been a ridiculous notion seeing as she was literally metres maybe even more under the ground surface, still that thought did nothing to stop her ears from recognising what they were hearing. It was definitely something, unless it was just another hallucination… **_

"_**Yes." Liara whispered tersely. "That must be the case." Liara had obviously been without food, water or sleep for two or three days and she had thought that perhaps it may have been beginning to get to her head. **_

_**But no… the once distant rumbling of speech mixed with the erratic sound of feet rushing along the grated metal that was the floor, was now getting louder and louder by the second. Liara could not help but to let herself smile insanely. Her smile quickly dissipated when she realized that it could still be anyone up there… there was still is a chance that it was the ridiculous krogan with his toy geth army for back-up. Suddenly the footsteps were replaced with the unnatural screeching of metal upon metal.**_

"_**Perhaps I was right… maybe it is just the geth." Liara mused quietly. Her heart sank deeply as she said that particular thought aloud, it just seemed to confirm her ponderings, even if there was next to no evidence to prove it otherwise.**_

_**Her heart leaped back up as the thudding from what Liara deduced to be three people, as they ran along and jumped down from somewhere, their organic voices mumbling softly as they did so. Right now though Liara did not care who these people were she just wanted out of this dank, lifeless hole.**_

"_**Hey skipper? Over here!" A young woman shouted from afar, pointing at Liara with her rifle.**_

"_**Whoa Chief Don't put your observational skills under such stress!" The other human female said sarcastically as she patted the pink and white armoured woman on the shoulder. **_

_**Liara smiled at the comment, chortling inwardly as she did so. The smaller woman also chuckled as the others comment. Slowly the pink and white armoured woman straightened out the kinks in her neck, following -who Liara could only assume to be their leader- afterwards. Shortly after where the smaller woman had walked out from, came a Turian male –sniper rifle in hand- looking around the cavernous area, searching for any points of interest before joining back up with the two humans.**_

"_**So… I assume that you are Dr. T'soni?" The black-haired leader asked rhetorically, as she slowly studied the light blue wall that separated them from one another. The dark haired woman ran her long, black armoured digits across the florescent blue barrier, absorbing it's sparking electricity painlessly before locking her piercing olive green eyes with Liara's pale blue ones.**_

"_**Yes-yes I am! Can you help me? I am trapped and am in need of help!" Liara's voice was much calmer than it should have been, but for some unknown reason this human female had a calming aura about her and it made Liara feel safe… protected. The leader continued to survey the barrier curtain for a little while longer, ordering something from the Turian, who in turn ordered up his omni-tool and began scanning the immediate area.**_

"_**Prothean barrier curtain…" The Turian and the leader said in sync, much to the Turian and Liara's surprise.**_

_**The humans green eyes darted from the asari's to the Turians briefly before settling on Liara's. "Huh, Lucky guess." She shrugged theatrically, soliciting quiet chuckles from all three of the other occupants, Liara included.**_

"_**Yes lucky indeed…" Liara was in awe of this woman amusing and smart, not the typical combination she assumed, but then again the leader didn't seem like the typical woman.**_

"_**I'm Commander Shepard by the way." The leader said pointing at herself, with a warm smile upon her face. "I am with Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. This here is my team, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams and this fine specimen is former C-sec agent Garrus Vakarian.**_

"_**Please commander you are to kind!" Garrus chuckled dryly "I mean I know I am good looking but…" Garrus trailed off as both Shepard and Ashley laughed in sync. Once their laughter had subsided the spectre decided that it was high-time she put back on her commanders mask and got back to doing what she and her team did best.**_

"_**Can you tell me how you got stuck inside here Dr. T'soni?" Shepard asked politely. The mysterious leader kept eye contact with Liara constantly as she spoke, most likely in an effort to keep the poor asari calm.**_

_**Liara looked up to the ceiling as she tried to force her un-nourished and sleep deprived brain to remember the requested memories. "Well, a few days ago I was studying my discoveries so far and that's when I heard the noises from… over there." Liara peeled her gaze away from Shepard's own reluctantly and nodded over to the area behind and beneath where they all currently stood. "When I investigated further I heard screams and shouting coming from above, where the three of you just came from." Liara sniffled away the oncoming tears that threatened her eyes.**_

"_**I know it can't be easy for you, I'm sorry." Shepard was acting extremely courteous towards the asari, even more so than she usually would have with a person in distress. Ashley herself couldn't help but notice how beautiful the doctor was and also couldn't help but put two and two together… but perhaps she was coming to the answer five instead of four.**_

_**Ashley softly tugged on Garrus's arm motioning him to come towards her, and being the gent that he was he did so gladly. "Is it just me or am I seeing sparks here?" Ashley asked keeping the corner of her eye upon the skipper and the new girl, who were still talking about the poor archaeologists trying experience involving the geth.**_

_**Garrus looked around for a brief moment before answering the young woman's query. "Yes I do, but that was highly inevitable." Garrus's voice as well as Williams's own were mere whispers. **_

"_**What? What makes you say that?" Ashley was confused as to what the Turian was insinuating. Surely he didn't mean that Shepard had tried to get her rocks off with every single person that we have encountered so far, but then again it was Garrus that she was talking to. The Turian had a way of turning almost anything into innuendo.**_

_**Garrus looked over at Williams and noticed her slightly bemused expression, wondering what he may have said wrong he decided to elaborate further. "Well the lift is probably coated in dust and dirt, which in turn caused it to break. So yes, I do see sparks, I thought that much was obvious." Ashley let out an irritated yet relived and slightly amused sigh at Garrus's observation.**_

"_**No… no Garrus… I wasn't talking about the lift I was talking about the skipper and T'soni." Garrus's expression grew even more confused now, leaving a rather flustered Ashley wishing that she had never said anything in the first place.**_

"_**But chief, people don't spark. Do they?" Garrus's question was that sincere that Williams couldn't help but laugh inwardly, trying her hardest to keep it supressed.**_

"_**No Garrus they don't calm down." She soothed. Once again her laughter was tested when the young Turian actually did visibly relax; letting out a breath of air that he didn't know that he was holding in. "I was talking about the chemistry between Shepard and the doctor. Do you see that to?" This time Garrus understood as he observed the two young women further away.**_

"_**When you put it like that yes, I do see it. It is quite odd… they have only just met, but they look so right just talking together." Ashley simply nodded in agreement with his statement. Ashley was about to add her own two cents worth, but was interrupted by the now more determined looking spectre, who had now beckoned over the pair of them.**_

"_**Dr. T'soni has told me everything that she knows so far, and it would seem a good idea to start our search down there." Shepard pointed to the pit below them. "But stay frosty you two, there is more likely than not more geth down there…"**_

"_**More you say? So you have already fought off some of them?" Liara asked. She knew deep down that she shouldn't be shocked this woman was after all a spectre, but the geth that she had seen earlier on… were now dead? For a moment Liara's mind was boggled, but the stern yet soothing voice of the spectre pulled her out of her raging thoughts.**_

"_**Yes doctor, we had to deal will a few geth and their drones on our way down here. Okay then guys, move out! Doctor… uh stay put and we will be back for you shortly." Shepard smiled to herself as did Ashley and Garrus. Liara couldn't help but smile to as she also realized the commanders' little faux pas.**_

"_**I am sorry if I happen to be pointing out the obvious, but I am afraid I am ONLY able to 'stay put' as you can see I am unable to move." Liara's tone was one of amusement, which only served to spur Ashley's and Garrus's laughter on more.**_

_**Shepard brooded slightly at the point that she had made, but managed to laugh it off anyway. "Laugh it up you three, but you two." Shepard pointed her fingers at Garrus and Ashley who were still laughing away happily. "Rest assured I will throw you in the brig when we get back…" Shepard's voice trailed off as the three of them made their way down the mesh stair case.**_

_**After about five minutes of gun fire and explosions the cavern fell silent. Liara did not know whether to feel happy or sad. Had her new found rescuers just saved her or had they perished themselves? Liara was pleasantly surprised when she thought that she had heard the faint sound of their familiar voices.**_

_**Back on the ground floor however the three squad mates were still looking for a way to get in to Dr. T'soni's location and right now they were running low on ideas. "Ashley, Garrus! Come here a second." Shepard was stood by a strange device as the two neared her. "I think I have an idea." The spectre knelt down on one knee and began examining the wires that fed into the white cylindrical device.**_

"_**That's never a good sign." Garrus muttered teasingly under his breath, gaining him a rather irritated look from Shepard. "Sorry." He uttered just as quietly as he two got down to his knees, running his omni-tool slowly over the device.**_

"_**It operates the mining laser." Both Garrus and Shepard said once again at the same time. Ashley laughed loudly as she saw the shocked expression reveal itself once again upon Garrus's face and his mandibles that were flicking away wildly.**_

"_**Damn skipper, who needs an omni-tool when they have you!" Ashley said in jest. Finally the youngest marine got down on her knees and began examining it with gloved hands.**_

"_**Right you two fix this thing up. Radio me when you've got it done…" Shepard kicked the device softly, popping open the hatch that Garrus had been struggling with. "I'm going to ask the good doctor a few more questions." She finished smugly. She spared one last glance at the two other squad mates before heading back up the stairwell.**_

_**Ashley snorted once she was sure that the commander was up the stair case. "Questions. Yeah right…" Garrus looked slightly confused at what the human had just said, but decided not to pursue it further.**_

_**Shepard had reached the top of the staircase and was now walking towards the florescent blue barrier. "Oh thank the goddess! I thought when everything went quiet something terrible may have happened… I am sorry I should have believed in you and your team." Liara's frantic side was beginning to slip away and the calm of Shepard's gaze once more transfixed her.**_

_**Shepard nodded at her statement, smiling softly. "I understand. Sometimes it's hard to stay calm when you believe your about to die… not that you are, but I hope you understand what I mean." It was Liara's turn to nod her head. As limited as her movements were right now she still had that.**_

"_**Yes I do understand. For a while I did believe that I was going to die. Not a soul knew that I was here other than myself and the humans that were mining here before I arrived." Liara didn't say anything about the colleague that had led her here in the first place. "How did you know where I was to be found? …That is if you don't mind my asking." Liara was genuinely interested in finding out how the spectre knew just that.**_

_**Shepard flashed her trade mark breath-taking smile before looking back down at her feet, kicking the dust a little as she did so. "Lucky guess…" Shepard chortled nervously under the beautiful asari's gaze. Liara joined in with her own light-hearted, musical laugh.**_

"_**You seem to be quite a lucky person it would seem." Liara added amusedly, as she tried to collect herself.**_

_**Shepard looked up to the beautiful asari archaeologist, locking her own piercing olive green eyes with those gorgeous pale blue ones of Liara. Both of them smiled inwardly basking in the comfortable silence that had fallen around them.**_

"_**All the more lucky for finding you it would seem…" Shepard meant it in more ways than one internally, but she had yet to actually meet this woman, whilst actually standing in the same room.**_

_***Come in skipper? We think we've got it fixed you might want to come back down before we set it off. Williams out.* Ashley said over the comm link. Shepard looked back up to Liara, who was looking slightly worried again.**_

"_**Don't worry Dr. T'soni, your safe with us. We will be with you before you know it." And with that the spectre ran back down the stairwell straight towards the two comrades. "What's the story, you two?" Shepard stood behind Ashley who was just putting the finishing touches to their creation.**_

"_**We are about to set off the laser hopefully it will bore through the wall and create an entryway to the passage that we saw behind where Dr. T'soni was up there." Garrus answered for Ashley who was still fiddling away with a few random buttons and dials.**_

"_**We are hoping that behind that wall there is something that will help us reach the level that the doctor is on." Ashley finished as she turned to face Shepard. The young marine wiped the odd bead of sweat that had formed on her brow. Then proceeded to pull out her canteen, but unfortunately for her it was empty. "Damn it." She muttered clipping the canteen back into its place.**_

"_**Here take this." Shepard said unconsciously without taking her eyes away from Garrus who was still talking to her about some piece of tech or another.**_

_**Ashley was shocked, in a good way. She and the skipper must have been close if they were sharing drinks now. "Thanks commander." Ashley took a quick sip from the bottle coughing a little as she swallowed its contents. "Good lord skipper! What is in this thing?" Ashley held out the canteen for Shepard to take back.**_

"_**Oh right sorry, biotics need energy drinks to keep us going, ergo the funky taste, again sorry Ash."**_

"_**No need to apologize commander. It was just a shock is all." Williams comforted the slightly older marine, gaining her a warm smile and a pat upon the back.**_

"_**C'mon lets fire this baby up, grab the doc and get out of this damn hole." Shepard ordered.**_

"_**Yes ma'am." Both Ashley and Garrus said at the same time. "Let me just press this and… that…" A powerful red beam fired from the tip of the mining laser causing Ashley to cover her eyes and trip over backward on the piece of rubble that had suddenly rolled under her feet. "There we go!" Garrus shouted over the mining laser, which eventually subsided into nothingness once more, revealing a newly carved entrance just a couple of metres underneath Liara's current location.**_

"_**Let's go save our doctor then, shall we?" Shepard swept both of her hands down gracefully toward Ashley who was still lying on the floor. Ashley took hold of the unsurprisingly strong hands, and felt herself being lifted to her feet effortlessly by the commanders' sturdy arms.**_

_**The trio walked over to the new found pathway examining it as they walked along. "Boy… the council are gonna be pretty pissed with you when you have to tell them about this." Ashley said jokingly as she ran her hands over the scorched –once white tiles, but now black- "We have caused a lot of damage since we arrived here… two hours ago." Ashley and Garrus chuckled, as Shepard scouted ahead. The spectre discovered a glowing lime green panel in the centre of the round room. **_

"_**I think we have found our way up." Shepard pressed a few buttons offhandedly, and nodded smugly as the platform began to rise up. Once it came level with Liara and shuddered to a halt. "Dr. T'soni So glad to meet you again!" Shepard said in a mock-shocked voice.**_

"_**Yes as am I to see you… and your team." Shepard chuckled nervously at the asari's statement, as she came up behind the levitating blue orb which held the doctor in the air.**_

_**Once again Shepard slipped back into her commanders' mask, leaving the jokes aside… for now anyway. "Do you know how we can get you down from there doctor?" Shepard asked politely. Although she was already examining the small folded away computer terminal in the corner of the small tiled room.**_

"_**It would seem that you have found that out already. I must have accidentally hit something on that particular panel whilst I was trying to shield myself from the geth… and that awful krogan." Shepard jolted upright from her hunched position over the computer terminal, turning around to fully face the beautiful asari. **_

"_**Krogan you say?" Shepard was disbelieving at first. 'Why would a krogan help the geth?' She thought to herself.**_

_**Liara nodded as vigorously as she could… under the circumstances. "Yes he was helping the geth find a route to get to me but they all vanished shortly before you three arrived. I had thought you might have dealt with them, but it would seem unlikely given that you had no idea there was even a krogan in here." Shepard simply nodded, before turning back to the panel and unfolding it. She silently studied and attempted to decipher the symbols, doing so successfully and with relative ease.**_

_**Liara watched in awe as the human tapped away at a few of the buttons deftly with black armoured fingers. Shepard, by now had unlocked the containment bubble and its barrier. She quickly turned around to catch the asari in her arms, and she did so as planned. The spectre felt the light-weight of the doctor rest easily against her forearms. The two women locked eyes with one another for slightly longer than necessary, before being interrupted by Ashley and more of her wild hand movements.**_

"_**Commander how… how the hell did you just do that?" Ashley asked as she pointed erratically at the green panel.**_

_**Shepard went to turn around, only to remember that the doctor was still in her arms. "Sorry Dr. T'soni. Are you ok to walk? Not that I mind carrying you, but…" Shepard sighed irritably as she noticeably flustered with her words, soliciting a small giggle from Liara.**_

_**An odd sensation swept over Liara as Shepard placed her down onto the floor -letting go of her completely- Liara felt disappointed, though she had next to no idea why. But she was also highly curious as to how Shepard had managed to do what she just had done. "How did I do what Williams?" Shepard asked looking terribly confused as to what Ashley was talking about.**_

"_**How did you unlock that device so quickly?" Ash queried tersely, pointing her fingers towards the control panel in the corner once more. Shepard's eyes followed the direction of Williams's fingers and it left her looking blankly at the green panel.**_

_**The spectre shrugged in frustration. "I just read the writing on it! Seriously Williams what's the big deal here?" Ashley was about to answer for herself, but she was gracefully interrupted by the asari.**_

_**Liara gently guided Shepard back over to the console, Garrus and Ashley trailing not too far behind them. "Commander Shepard, the 'big deal' is that these texts are written in the ancient prothean language and here you are telling us that you can read them easily." Liara said amusedly, once more staring deep into the spectres olive-green eyes.**_

"_**Wait a minute… your telling me that you can't read this?" Shepard gestured both hands towards the clear text before her and the archaeologist. "Isn't this written in galactic standard for you guys?" Shepard asked the prothean expert, who was looking at her with a shocked expression upon her face.**_

_**Liara let her eyes slowly drift back to the confusing prothean text, shaking her head weakly. "No commander, this is prothean. After all we are in a prothean ruin..." Shepard scratched the back of her neck in her own characteristic way. By now Liara's interest in this mysterious soul was fully peaked and she now wanted nothing more than to sit her down and quiz her on everything she knew, but time was running short and they were all exhausted from the day's events, especially the commander herself. Suddenly the small group felt the very ground beneath their feet shudder uncontrollably once again knocking Ashley to the floor, but this time Garrus had helped her up.**_

"_**What the hell was that?" She shouted once she was fully back on her feet.**_

_**Liara looked up curiously, watching the walls quiver and shake as well. Tiny streams of dust and powdered concrete began falling gracefully from way up above them. "The mining laser you used! I t must have triggered some kind of seismic event. We must get out of this place before it collapses completely!" Shepard roughly grabbed Liara's arm tugging her against her own body, wrapping her arms around the asari. Liara was wondering what in the name of the goddess Shepard was doing, until she heard a giant clattering sound come from behind her. Liara felt the grip around her loosen slightly, once again feeling the tiny pang of loss as the comforting body heat faded away from her.**_

"_**I'm sorry Dr. T'soni, honestly I didn't mean to be so rough, but you could've been killed." Shepard whispered into her ear as she completely relinquished her hold on the beautiful doctor.**_

_**Liara once again locked eyes with the spectre smiling warmly as she placed a soothing hand upon the commanders' shoulder. "There is no need to apologize commander you have just saved my life… for the second time today, I should be the one thanking you." Their miniature moment was interrupted when a large krogan –even by their standards- waltzed up to where the four of them now stood. The krogan was now standing barely a few inches away from Shepard herself, coming nearly face to face with the fearless marine.**_

"_**Hand the doctor over!" The deep, chesty rumble of the krogans voice echoed around the cylindrical room for a good few seconds after it had been spoken. "Or don't… that would be more fun." The krogan added more quietly, stepping back slightly and raising his shotgun level with the commanders' eyes.**_

"_**Uh… In case you haven't noticed this place is falling apart." Shepard stated sarcastically, as she closed in on the krogan.**_

_**The krogan showed a deranged toothy smile. "I should have known you'd be a fun one… Shepard…." Before the krogan could make another move Shepard pulled out the military issue knife out from its sheath down by her boot, and dug it deeply into the krogans skull, using the brief seconds were the krogans body protected her from the geth to pull out her own pistol and take out two of them with head shots. The krogans body loudly thudded to the floor, leaving Shepard and the team open. Shepard quickly signalled Garrus to snipe down a few more of the geth whilst Ashley was told to guard Dr. T'soni. As soon as the fight had begun it had ended. Sloppily the spectre pulled the blade from the krogans face and re-sheathing it, spilling more of the bright orange blood onto the metallic grey floor as she did so. **_

"_**C'mon doctor, we still need to escape this place." Shepard said in a surprisingly calm tone of voice. The spectre offered her hand to the asari and gently pulled her to her feet. There was another loud clatter, this time the mine really was collapsing and all four of them would die if they didn't get out soon. The group ran for the mesh walkway ahead of them, Liara was lagging behind slightly though, perhaps the sleep deprivation and dehydration really was catching up on her. Liara felt her legs fall from underneath her, only to be cradled by the same powerful, strong arms as she had been earlier.**_

_**Shepard smiled roguishly down at the tired asari and winked. "I've got you now doc, don't worry." Liara felt a slight pang of dizziness as she was lifted up one forearm behind her knees and the other supporting her neck. Once more she felt safe and protected as gently slipped into unconsciousness, but not before her ears picked up one more thing.**_

"_**I was only kidding earlier when I said the council were gonna be pissed with you, but now… I think they'll pretty much kill you now…" Ashley said as they finally reached the exit to the collapsed mine. Liara smiled inwardly before slipping back into the unconscious realm.**_

* * *

A bright smile appeared on Liara's face as she recalled that particular memory. It was the beginning of something very special for her. The young asari however, was brought even further out of her dream-like daze when she heard the quick succession of clicking fingers; it had to be Chakwas that was her trademark way of capturing attention.

"Doctor T'soni. Chief Williams… She is a bit groggy, but if you want to visit her feel free." The human doctor said humbly as she walked back into the med bay. Liara and Ashley both lifted themselves from their seats, the asari obviously more excited to see her injured lover then Ash was to see her injured friend but the excitement was within Ash's stride never the less.

"Are you ready for this?" Ashley whispered to Liara who was now looking slightly nervous and was wringing her hands at the prospect of seeing her beloved spectre badly hurt once again.

"Yes Chief… I… I think that I am." Liara's outer confidence betrayed her inner concerns but she didn't have to let Ashley see that just yet.

"Please Liara, call me Ashley." The chief gave Liara a soft pat on the back before the pair made their way towards the med bay.

* * *

A/N: Sorry guys about the length of this chapter, once I got myself started I just couldn't stop, whilst writing an idea struck me and I just had to get it down before I lost it. (The whole Therum part was the idea by the way.)

And I also wondered if any of my readers had any interesting ideas that they might wish to share with me and maybe I will incorporate them into my story. I have plenty of ideas already, but I just wanted to put that out there. Again thanks everyone for the feedback, it really helps me work. Please R&R to your heart's content, Peewit22 out!


	7. Discovery and Regret

Mass Effect: An Epic Tale Chapter 7.

Peewit22

A/N: Thanks to all of those of you who read and enjoyed the last chapter, again sorry about the length, any who I'm just going to dive straight into this story now so… Bye! Oh and also before I go, a massive thank you everyone for the kind words, more specifically: Lilymaniac, greigar, Kachie Takahashi, valia and last but not least random359 – You guys really rock!

Disclaimer: I would just like to say as much as I wish I did, I do not own Bioware or any of its characters *Shakes fists at Bioware* Kidding... Kidding. Enjoy people!

* * *

Liara and Ashley entered the medical bay with careful feet, so as not to wake the exhausted spectre. The young asari was the first to reach Shepard. Gently she took her lovers hand in her own once again intertwining their fingers together. Ashley let out a small sigh as she looked over to Liara, who's usually beautiful looks were marred slightly by her pained expression.

"It's okay Dr. T'soni she has been sedated, for now, but she should wake up in about half an hour –give or take." Chakwas explained from the distant reaches of her desk. Ashley had now decided to take up the seat in front of the human doctor' desk. The pair then began to whisper things to one another in the hope of not rousing Liara's worry… that is if there was any real worry to be had in the first place.

Ashley leaned forward, resting her elbows on to the desk. "So… did everything go well?" Chakwas's eyes darted from the data-pad in front of her to meet the concerned gaze of the young female marine.

"Yes it did actually. Shepard has reacted well to another type of medi-gel that we usually use in such cases, but the wound was quite badly infected which caused the laceration to inflame slightly, damaging the repairs that we had originally made to her fractured skull. In order to fix that problem we had to implant a cybernetic plate that rests comfortably on top of her skull." Chakwas tapped her own brow as to indicate the area where Sam's new cybernetic plate was located. "All in all it went worse than expected and better than I'd hoped." Chakwas finished, gaining her a slightly confused look from Ashley.

Ashley took a few seconds to adjust her thoughts before speaking once again. "How on earth did it go worse than you expected doc?" Ash was still whispering, though the pair of them had no idea why, surely Liara must have seen the un-godly blood red glow emanating from behind the large, white band aid upon Shepard's head.

The human doctor cleared her throat as she mentally began preparing her medical talk. "Well when Dr. T'soni had first brought the commander in here I thought it was just a simple infection, but it appeared that I was wrong. It was only when we examined the laceration more closely that we realized the true extent of damage to Shepard's already fractured skull, add to that the inflammation of the surrounding skin which was applying more pressure to the fracture. All in all it simply came together to make a very painful injury, that required the most minor of surgeries. Now all that is left to do is tell poor Liara what we have had to do…"

Ashley nodded weakly, glimpsing over the young asari standing protectively over her lover, hand in hand once again. Turning back to Chakwas she understood the task wasn't going to be an easy one at all. When any person was worried they had a tendency of jumping to conclusions, which was never easy to deal with at the best of times. Liara was a dear friend and it would be much harder telling her. "Well if what you say is correct and the surgery did go well, why does it matter?"

"Because that once fading cut upon her face…" Chakwas trailed of, turning her own gaze over to Shepard who still lay there unconscious, yet oddly at peace. Ashley gently prodded the humans hand with her index finger, indicating her to carry on the sentence that she had previously started. "… Oh um, sorry Chief as I was saying. The laceration and its healing process were altered by our necessary meddling with it. After we implanted the cybernetic plate, me and the rest of my team did some extensive research and discovered that the old human adage rings true. A positive mental outlook will help the healing process… immensely so, but a negative one may serve to take the opposite effect." Ashley looked sceptical at Chakwas and her teams' new revelation. How was being good or being bad supposed to affect the way a person looks this was sheer nonsense… but then again she was a doctor, ergo she must have some sort of an idea as to how such thing would and in fact could change the body.

Ash shook off her mental discussion and refocused upon the human doctor. "Wait, how will it affect the skipper badly?" The young marine was actually a bit afraid of the answer. What would the plate do under her skin to make her healing halt? No, that didn't bare thinking about right now least of all whilst the good doctor was trying to talk to her.

"Well with anger comes the sudden strong flow of blood to the brain. Now that Shepard has a new cybernetic plate in place the heat emanating from the amount of blood that rushes around whilst angry could cause the plate to heat up dramatically. Of course the plate wouldn't cause Shepard any physical pain, not usually anyway, but like I have said; no physical pain. As the laceration heals layers upon layers of skin will slowly be built back up, however if the plate heats up during the early stages of healing the new flesh will painlessly dissipate causing the whole process to restart once again, if this keeps on happening eventually a thick layer of scar tissue will form around the edges of the laceration. Basically at that point nothing gets in and nothing gets out, that includes healing skin." Chakwas finished with a tone of warning and worry, though not aimed at Ashley, but the dozing spectre still surrounded by the comforting presence of her lover.

Ashley shook her head weakly. Her eyes once more drifted over to the commander. _**'Boy is she going to have issues with keeping her temper under wraps…" **_She mumbled inside her own mind. "Ah I see now. Thanks for the talk doc, you've enlightened me." Ash gave a brief cheeky grin. Ash then turned around on her heel so that the young archaeologist and her skipper were now in front of her. Slowly –hands in pockets and head down- she paced over to the bedside, taking hold of the side bar with both hands, leaning forward on it slightly.

The chief examined Liara up and down; focusing on the poor asari's saddened features. Finally Ashley decided to pipe up, the least she could do if she was going to loiter around would be to comfort the poor thing. "She will be okay Liara." Ash's facial expression betrayed her "true feelings." Even with Chakwas's little pep talk Ashley didn't know how the skipper would be able to pull it off. Shepard had to deal with so much stress and anger must have been right up there with breathing and thinking on her proverbial to-do list.

Liara finally let her eyes move from Shepard's –slightly glowing- band aid. She had a –from what Ashley could read anyway- angry look upon her face and it was centred whole-heartedly on the young woman. "What do you mean 'she will be fine?' Why is her bandage glowing slightly and why won't any of you tell me what is going on?" Liara finished a little breathless from her hurtful tone. To Williams and Chakwas it was understandable, being left in the dark was nobodies idea of fun, and the young asari was getting the worst kind of being left in the dark…

"Uh… well… I… uh…" The young human couldn't piece a half decent sentence together under the concerned pale blue gaze of Liara. Chakwas slowly glided up to Ashley's side saving her from a fate worse than death.

Chakwas once again had her trusty data-pad in hand, an irritatingly regular sight for Shepard's cronies. "Dr. T'soni, I may be of better assistance to you and you question's. How may I help?" Chakwas was calm on the outside, but she was burning up just as much as Williams had under Liara's wide-eyed glare.

Luckily for the good doctor, Liara's angered eyes had returned back to her lovers limp form, which served to soothe the asari by an amazing amount. "I… I just want to know what you had to do to her. And will she be okay?" Liara looked back up to Chakwas and Ashley. However this time her eyes contained a more pleading look. Was it so wrong for her to learn of how her beloved was doing?

The older human cleared her throat granting her a startled glare from the previously dazed Chief. Chakwas nodded apologetically towards the younger woman gaining her a clumsy smile. Turning back to Liara now, she would tell her the whys and the how's of Shepard's current condition.

"Dr. T'soni, the infection that Shepard sustained put the fracture to her skull under an immense amount of pressure we remedied this with the use of cybernetics." Liara brow furrowed, she snapped her eyes over to Chakwas who amazingly held her confident posture. The young asari's face softened as she realized if the human doctor did do that then it was most likely the best choice. After turning her gaze back to her beloved Samantha, Chakwas continued. "We put the cybernetic plate underneath the skin right about here…" Chakwas raised her data-pads stylus and circled it just above the faint red glow emanating from underneath the large white band aid. "That should explain the slight red glow coming from underneath the bandage." Ashley tuned out Chakwas's speech to Liara and turned her own gaze to her skipper… her poor skipper. After a few minutes of daydreaming Williams's ears picked up the sweet, caring tones of Liara's voice that reverberated though out her ear drums, gently pulling her out of her own mind.

"So if she does not keep calm and relaxed the scar shall forever remain?" Liara asked sounding like she was on the verge of tears. Ashley skipped around the bed, coming side to side with the upset woman. Williams gently tugged the asari's shoulder and pulled her into a comforting hug as Liara softly sobbed into the crook of her neck.

"To be fairly honest with you Dr. T'soni I am relatively sure that the meeting with the council was to arrange time for the Normandy to be fixed and for the crew to have some quality time away from the ship. If so Shepard would need not worry about work for months possibly more, thus giving her more than enough time for that head wound to heal." Chakwas was actually sounding positive which was always a good sign. Liara quickly pulled herself out of Ashley's arms and grabbed hold of the bed side rail apprehensively.

Looking back down at her peaceful lover, Liara thought about what the doctor had just said and how true it rang in her ears. "If what you say is correct… that Samantha will not have to be bothered about anymore of the troubles aboard the Normandy for quite some time then perhaps everything will be fine after all." Liara was talking more so to herself than to Ashley or Chakwas, but both women nodded in agreement with her statement never the less.

"Yes you are correct Dr. T'soni. The only problem I can see is the fact that Shepard has yet to attend their meeting and I should also imagine that the council are probably going to stress her out as well." Chakwas stated irritably. Once again Ashley simply nodded to the words spoken.

Again Liara took her spectres hand into her own, smiling warmly down at her lover as she did so. "When will she wake up doctor?" Liara said through her teary smile. Chakwas couldn't help but smile herself at the young asari's new found optimism.

Chakwas consulted her data-pad one last time, looking up at Liara with a smile of her own now in tow. "It shouldn't be more than ten minutes, twenty at most." And with that the human turned on her heel and headed back for her desk, taking a seat a she reached it.

Nine minutes had passed and people were starting to get restless. They all knew that it was highly unlikely that Shepard would wake up in exactly ten minutes, but they were apprehensive none the less. The chronometer struck the ten minute mark, Liara turned to Shepard just to check up on her as she had been doing for the past half an hour. A quiet rustling came from the bottom of the bed. It was Shepard! Her feet were moving! Shepard let out a gravelly groan as she adjusted her position by leaning on both of her elbows.

Liara fingers intertwined with the longer ones of Samantha. Shepard let out a content sigh. Realizing who it was holding her hand comforted her a lot. She slumped back into the soft bed, moaning a little as her tender head hit the pillow.

"Ow… what's going on? Why am I back in here? Did I do something wrong…?" Shepard reeled of the questions. She was prepared to continue, but she felt a soft hand rest upon her collarbone, soothing her worries slightly.

Liara worried about Samantha. The spectre had only just woken up and she was already in a bit of a stress. "My love… you need not worry you simply hurt your head is all." Liara soothed in a motherly tone, putting the commander at ease even more. "You are hurt beloved and you NEED to rest." Liara's fingers gently ran through the soft black hair, soothing the spectre even further, in fact so much so that she was on the verge of falling back into sleep. Ashley slowly roused from her own slumber, she must have fallen asleep whilst watching Shepard. Now however the slightly older woman was awake and in dire need of some water.

"Skipper!" Ashley rushed to the commanding officers side. Gently Ashley passed Sam a Sippy cup half filled with water. "Here you go skipper." Shepard guzzled down the cups contents quickly, easing the pain in her throat in doing so.

"Oh man!" Shepard exclaimed as loudly as she could, which at this point was barely more than a whisper much to Liara amusement. "The last time I was in here I got apple juice." Shepard gave a sly look to Liara, who was smiling warmly back at her.

Ashley laughed herself. In all honestly she would've gotten her skipper the apple juice, but according to Chakwas this time it was forbidden. "Nah, I'm sorry skipper… Chakwas said something about allergies." Sam's jaw dropped at the statement. Unfortunately for Shepard it was true. Her medi-gel allergy had opened up the flood-gates to all kinds of hidden dangers, but without her apple juice Sam wouldn't know where to put herself.

"Wha- what… but why…? How?" Shepard muttered quietly. "I've never had allergies before. Why now?" It was around this time that Chakwas made her entrance, to the other two women relief… Shepard now looked on the verge of punching someone.

"Ah… I see that you have been briefed commander?" Chakwas was just happy to see Shepard awake, but she too had noticed her angered facial expression.

Sam snorted sarcastically and looked towards the human doctor with a scowling look upon her features. "What the hell doc! Allergies, what's that supposed to mean?" Shepard's voice was still barely more than a whisper, but somehow she still managed to express how i-rate she was. The eerie glow emanating from underneath Sam's band aid was now ablaze with an angry blood red colour. Liara quickly rested a soothing hand upon the spectres uninjured shoulder and the effect of said action began to show immediately when Shepard's erratic breathing slowed down to a calmer pace as well as her features, which were now softening up as she continued to watch on the delicate blue hand gently rubbing her shoulder.

"My love let us not jump to conclusions just yet." Liara's voice was warm. Shepard couldn't deny the truth in the young asari's words so Sam simply nodded as she covered Liara's soft hand with her own bigger one.

"Sorry doctor Chakwas… I'm just a bit confused is all. I didn't mean to take it out on you. Again I'm sorry." Sam's voice was once more a hoarse whisper, but never the less Chakwas appreciated the apology even if it was unnecessary.

Chakwas flicked on her trusty data-pad and began silently reading some of Shepard's stats. Once the good doctor had learned everything that she needed to know right at this moment she looked back up to Shepard with apologetic eyes. "I'm the one that should be apologising commander and I am truly sorry. We should have waited until you were a bit more awake before telling you what was going on."

"What is going on doctor?" Shepard softly interrupted. The once angry look upon her face had now been replaced with a confused and curious one.

Chakwas gently lay the scratched data-pad down on to the equipment cart beside her, looking back up to meet her own forest green eyes with the piercing olive green ones of the commander. "When we first fixed up the wound that you had upon your forehead we used a type of medi-gel that it just so turns out you are allergic to." Shepard nodded in acceptance of this. The fact that she was allergic to one type of medi-gel was hardly an issue seeing as there was more than one out there in the universe. "However, usually when medi-gel causes this kind of adverse effect it opens the body up to more allergies."

Shepard looked just as confused as Ashley did at this point, but for some reason beyond either woman comprehension Liara was actually looking the most calm that she had ever been. "So what does that mean for me doctor?" Sam asked genuine worry laced her words.

"It means that until we have had the chance to run our tests we can't be sure what you are allergic to and what you are not. Basically we have to keep you on a drip until we are sure that we can give you any type of solids without you going into anaphylactic shock." Shepard's jaw clenched tightly and her eyebrows furrowed.

Once Sam had her bearings back she was able to speak once more, but Liara gracefully interrupted for the still bewildered spectre. "And what if she cannot eat a single thing in the future without having this type of reaction?" Shepard could hear the hurt and angst within Liara's voice, but the strong willed asari was not about to drop her mask of confidence now, if not for her own sake, but for Shepard's.

Chakwas looked down towards her feet for a little to long for Liara's liking before looking back up at her. The human doctor was still unable to meet the archaeologists gaze right now though, causing Liara's concern level to spike. "Let us not think of that right now." Chakwas offered in the form of a simple statement. Liara nodded sullenly in reply to the human's words. She did not yet know what would happen if that was the case. If Chakwas's reaction to the question in hand was enough to gage a vague idea about the severity of that particular outcome it was going to be a bad one…

Shepard had decided to semi change the subject at this point. She had had enough of everyone discussing her mortality for quite some time and now that there was a slim chance they would also start questioning her quality of life. She knew she would have to divert this proverbial train wreck… for now anyway. "So Dr. Chakwas, when will these 'tests' start?"

"We can begin them right away actually. Although I must say that everyone will have to vacate the med bay." Chakwas glanced up at both Ashley and Liara for a brief second before looking back down to Shepard, who simply nodded in agreement with the doctors' previous statement.

"I have to agree with you on that one doctor Chakwas." Shepard squeezed Liara's hand softly in a vain attempt to comfort the clearly distressed asari. "Don't worry babe, you'll be back in here before you know it." She added in a gentle whisper one that always managed to set Liara's nerves at ease. It was the young maidens turn to nod now. As Ashley and Liara prepared to leave, Liara gave one last sad glance back to the woman of her heart before the door slid shut separating the pair once more.

"Ok commander, this set of tests that I am about to preform should be relatively painless…"

"Should be?" Shepard abruptly interrupted.

"In theory yes, people have been through this procedure lot of times, really commander there is nothing to worry about… honestly." Chakwas soothed. A couple of nurses entered the room neatly, one of said nurses passed Chakwas a small white, cuboid box. Chakwas snapped open the duro-plastic clips covering the front of the box and pulled out a miniature tray of small vials each of which contained a different liquid. Shortly after that Chakwas was passed a small needle wrapped in a plastic bag.

'_**Looks like an old golf tee.' **_Shepard thought amusedly to herself.

Chakwas unwrapped the needle from its sterile packaging. "Okay commander, I'm not sure whether or not you have ever had skin-prick test before. Have you?" Chakwas's eyes only strayed away from the needle briefly whilst she lifted up one of the vials and began reading its label.

"Actually yeah, I did have one once doc." Shepard replied half-heartedly as she recalled the memory. Her notion had peaked the human doctors' interest though and now Chakwas was all ears to Shepard.

"Ah, may I ask what it was for?"

Shepard shook her head as to bring herself out of her reverie, she remembered that it was a painless procedure and that she was ever so glad of its outcome. "Oh yeah right, uh… dog allergies." She said tersely.

"Of cou- hold on… did you say dog allergies?" Chakwas was confused about the previous sentiment. Caroline Chakwas had served upon the same dreadnought that Hannah and John Shepard had, there was always a strict policy on pets whilst upon a dreadnaught and dogs were more likely that not a no, no. The biggest pet allowed upon a ship was a fish or a hamster, but Cats and dogs… definitely no. "Why did you need testing against that? You didn't have a dog growing up."

"No we didn't, but my grandmother and Grandfather did." Sam replied with a smile on her face. It wasn't often when she could get one over the doctor, but when she did it was a moment to remember.

It took the human doctor a while to figure out when Shepard junior had been sent to her Grandmother and Grandfather, but then she recalled one of the bigger missions and when her dear friend Hannah had come to her on the verge of tears expressing how much she hated leaving little Sammy behind, but how she knew that she had to. Chakwas remembered that particular memory sadly she herself had grown quiet fond of the little tyke and would hate it if something were to happen to the Einstein leaving little Sammy parentless. "Ah, of course I understand. I remember that time well. Have you spoken to either Warren or Ava lately?" Chakwas knew that both of Sam's grandparents were still alive and well. And both of them would have definitely been well into retirement by now.

Although Sam didn't move her neck, she looked up towards the ceiling as she tried to recall the last time she had spoken to her grandparents. "Let me see… god, it's got to have been about a year ago now. Wait how'd you know them?" Shepard was the one whose curiosity was spiking now and was whole-heartedly interested to know how the brilliant Dr. Chakwas knew her Grandmother and Grandfather.

"I met them both at a formal alliance ball once. They both seemed like very interesting and nice people, especially your grandfather." Chakwas looked up at Shepard with a smirk upon her face, indicating that she knew something.

Shepard chortled softly with the doctor for a few minutes before refocusing themselves. "Yeah you could say that. Tell you a lot of his stories did he?" Chakwas nodded in return to the question.

"Yes Warren seemed quite proud of his career back then. I think he was more proud of your mother than anything else." Shepard smiled at the doctors' sentiment. It is true that her grandfather was terribly proud of her mother's achievements and nearly cried when she was promoted to captain. Shepard's grandmother also shared the same enthusiasm for her youngest daughter, but Ava (Samantha's grandmother) was more pleased when Hannah got married to Engineer John Shepard and was happier still when little Sammy came along. Ava and Warren would spoil the young girl -much to Hannah's chagrin- but Hannah couldn't blame the two grandparents for taking such joy from being around little Sammy. Hannah had eventually lost track of how many people said that she and Johns little girl was the life and soul of anywhere she went, and it was true. The beautiful little girl, with her big green eyes and wild hand movements had a way of bringing the best out in everyone and Hannah knew that little Sammy would grow up to be some one big… some one important.

"Is that right? He never really spoke about that stuff when I was around." Shepard reminisced happily. Reminding her of a simpler time one in which the whole galactic community didn't rest solely upon her shoulders. Letting out a small sigh, Shepard looked back over to Chakwas who had now made at eight tiny scratches upon Sam's skin, each scratch labelled with its own name and some of the older scratches were becoming inflamed and itchy, Shepard didn't yet know what that represented, but it seemed bad to her.

Chakwas finished the test with two more scratches adding to a grand total of ten, five in each column that scaled her arm and each cut at least an inch maybe a little bit more between them. "Hmm…" Chakwas hummed under her breath. The doctor had also noticed that the older skin marks were beginning to become inflamed and red. This wasn't a good sign and if every single scratch reacted the same way then Shepard wouldn't be returning to solids anytime soon.

"Doc, is something wrong?" Sam looked intently into the doctors forest green eyes as if she was searching for answers. Chakwas became even more concerned when some of the newer marks began to flare up. Letting out a deep sigh, Chakwas looked back up at Shepard with worry glazing over the doctors eyes.

"Shepard…" Chakwas was interrupted when Sam flopped back onto the back of the bed, which was now propped up at an 80 degree angle. Shepard let out her own sigh, but this time however this was one of irritation and anger as was the young commander's facial expression. "It would appear that our worst fears have become apparent."

"Well isn't that just, great?" Shepard asked sarcastically, her voice dripping with venom.

Chakwas checked the skin test one more time just to make sure it was correct and unfortunately for the spectre, it was. "I'm sorry commander there are things that we can do to help bu-"

"But you can't get rid of them, am I right?"

Chakwas never said another word, but instead managed a weak nod. "Great… just fucking great!" Shepard shouted angrily, not aiming her words at Chakwas specifically, but aiming it more so at herself and her own issues. Shepard quickly slid herself off the bed –luckily for her she was still in her BDU's- She was now breathing heavily due to the sheer rage that had amassed within her body. Sam staggered slightly, still not 100% with the painkillers that were currently dulling down the pain from her facial surgery. Not thinking properly, Shepard ripped the drips needle from out of her arm and picked up the drip, throwing it with all of her biotic force into the med bay wall opposite her bed. The drips bag burst instantly with contact against the wall and the metal pole that made up the drips frame was bent in every which way except for the way it was supposed to be and was left in a tangled ball of bent and destroyed mental upon the shiny floor. Chakwas looked over at the commander in shock and awe, she understood that the latest news would affect the spectre adversely, not just in everyday life, but with the way she worked. A soldier was not permitted to carry a drip around the battle field with them and right now both women knew that.

"Shepa-!" Once again the human doctor was interrupted, Chakwas couldn't understand what was running through the poor spectre's mind at the moment or what she would have to go through in the future.

"NO!" She shouted venomously towards Chakwas with a very mean looking snarl upon her face. "No…" This time it was no more than a whisper, a mere mutter underneath her breath. Chakwas wanted to grab the poor woman and just hold her close and tell her everything would be alright, but she knew that that would probably result in some sorry marine scrapping what was left of her brains off the wall along with what remained of the shattered drip.

The good doctors' thoughts were broken when she heard the door whiz open and close. Chakwas ran for the door as quickly as she could. Once the door had opened she scanned the room precariously. If Shepard had gotten off and boarded the Citadel than she could really end up harming herself. Just one wrong drink here or one wrong piece of food here and she could very well end up dead…

Unfortunately for the silver haired woman the angry spectre was nowhere to be seen. As the doctor turned around to go back into the med bay and make a few calls she spotted the startled forms of Liara and Ashley leaning against the bulkhead next to Shepard's room. Letting out yet another sigh Chakwas started towards them, though the two women's eyes never shifted from somewhere over by the elevator.

"You two! Where did the commander go?" her voice was stern and commanding, but it still wasn't enough to bring either of the women out of their thoughts. Chakwas reached where the two of them stood and placed both of her hands on either of the women's shoulders shaking them softly. Ashley was the first to snap back into life and gulped when she spotted Chakwas's grave expression.

Roughly, Ash nudged the still stunned Liara next to her with her shoulder, further startling the young asari. "I'm sorry doc, what did you say?" Williams asked, eyes darting from Liara to Chakwas's own.

The good doctor thought to herself that if she sighed one more time all the air would completely drain from her body, but she did so anyway. "I said, have you seen the commander?" Liara snapped her eyes toward Chakwas, a worried expression of her own in tow now.

"Yes, she just passed by us not two minutes ago. Why Dr. Chakwas, is something the matter?" By now Liara had gathered herself back together –a little bit anyway- "She did not look very happy what is going on?" The archaeologist pleaded. She most certainly would have run off the find her lover by now if not for Chakwas's stern grip holding her down.

"The tests… they came back positive for damn near everything. She wasn't happy, stormed out… now I can't find her. I have to find the commander before she hurts herself… or worse…" Came Chakwas's rushed response, only spurring Liara's worry further.

"That would explain it." Ashley muttered under her breath.

Chakwas let go of Liara completely now and rested both hand on to the young chiefs shoulders gripping them tightly, not quite digging her nails in. "Explains what chief! What do you know?"

Ashley didn't get the chance to speak. Liara encircled her hand around Chakwas's bicep firmly and pointed at the bulkhead that shrouded the elevator and its shaft. At first the human didn't know what Liara was getting at, but upon closer inspection she took note of the gaping hole that punctured the outer bulkhead and went straight through giving her a good view of the interior of the lift. "…how…?" Chakwas was lost for words. It did not look like or smell like gunfire, no burning metal smell or any visible sign of burnt or warped metal. "Did she punch right through this?" It dawned upon the elder human. Liara simply nodded as did Williams from her position over by the other bulkhead. "Jesus wept… she must have been angry…" The silver haired woman ran her fingers over the punctured bulkhead. In doing so she realized that the metallic tang of biotic usage in the air. Shepard must have been one vexed person.

"Biotics?" It was a redundant question, but the good doctor wanted to be sure just in case. Again both women nodded their heads in a positive response to Chakwas's previous question. "Come." The human grabbed Liara's arm and signalled for Ashley to follow after them. "We have to find Shepard, before it is too late!" All three of the woman rushed single file -with Liara in front- up the staircase. The three women only stopped for a brief moment to look at the door, which had been biotically warped off of its frame and the nervous alliance guard who stood beside it.

They ran up through the cockpit and ran into Joker, who was pointing his thumb towards the decontamination chamber… and the exit. "If you guys are looking for the commander she went that way." Ashley patted both women on to the back before darting into the chamber first followed shortly after by Liara and Chakwas.

"Thanks Jeff!" Came the distant upper-class British accent, that was 'o' so familiar to him.

Smirking to himself, he decided to answer. "No problem doc, lemme know when you find her!" He shouted back whilst secretly praying to god that the commander was okay. Without her the entire ship would fall apart and he refused to let that happen.

* * *

'_**What has my life come to?' **_Shepard thought to herself as she made her way through the debilitating crowd that was the wards. _**'It sucks is where it's come to!' **_another part of her brain shouted at her and it was right. Allergies! How could something a stupid as a bunch of allergies dictate her entire life? Her career right down to the simple pleasures like food and drink… _**'Maybe this is how the Quarians feel.'**_ Shepard was stopped and quickly pulled out of her imagination when she found herself outside a bar.

_**-**_**Empire Club - **the dark red neon sign read. Shepard shrugged her shoulders and slipped into the half empty bar. As she looked around she took notice of the odd amount of people who were smiling politely at her. _**'Well I'll be damned. It's not very often that you find a bar on the citadel that isn't filled with human hating aliens. Or human hating humans for that matter.'**_ Shepard approached the bar and took a barstool.

Shortly after taking a seat the gentleman -what she assumed was a human male from his voice- behind the bar walked over to her and looked at her with a friendly smile upon his face, although she never looked up at him to see it herself. "Is there something I can get for you friend?" Something within that deep Republican Irish accent rang familiar to Shepard, but she couldn't care less whom it was at the moment she was at a loss. Plus with all of her issues –health wise- it was perhaps not the best idea to be drinking any foreign liquids right now.

"Uh… water please." Shepard shrugged whilst keeping her eyes firmly fixed to her feet never once making eye contact with the kind sounding man. Not two seconds later the bartender had walked back over to her and placed a frosty green glass bottle upon the dark mahogany bar in front of her.

"Here you go pal!" He stated politely. Maybe it was just her posture that was making the guy feel sorry for her, but she appreciated his kindness never the less. Shepard looked up to thank the man and was met with one hell of a shock once she had done so.

Sam squinted slightly just to be sure she was seeing who she was actually seeing. Carefully she lent in closer on her stool. "Jack?" She whispered. The last time these two had seen each other had been a long time ago and not a particularly pleasant memory for either party.

"Yeah it's me Sam." Jack was whispering to indicating to Shepard that there was more to him working behind this bar than met the eye. "Only to the people in here I go by Knox." Shepard couldn't help but chortle softly at Jacks alias causing the dark, handsome man the laugh quietly along with her. They always did have the same sense of humour which is what probably kept them as such close friends.

"Knox eh? I like it, it's got a certain… ring to it." Shepard pranked. Only serving to provoke Jack's laughter further. Jack pawed the air in his own teasingly camp way. Leaning forward once more Shepard began to ask what she had been dying to know since she discovered it was him in which she was speaking to.

"What are you doing here Jack? Did you bail out of the alliance?" A genuine spark of interest lingered within Sam's eyes.

Jack shook his head, with a beaming smile upon his face. "No." He said in his thick Republican Irish accent. "Once they transferred me and some of the others to a different vessel, someone from back on earth… London, to be more precise contacted me and offered me job. Let's just say it was a better opportunity for me that sticking in the alliance. I still keep in contact with them from time to time, but I now officially work for someone else. I can't say more than that. Not here anyways." Leaning away from Shepard he kept the amazing smile upon his still black stubble covered chin. "And anyway Samantha, what are you doing here and drinking water never the less?"

Shepard's gaze fell back down to her feet. Being reminded that you were down and out was not the most uplifting way to spend your evening. "Oh yeah-" Sam trailed off as she gently grasped the bottle with both hand and rubbing the condensation off with her thumb. "Let's just say I have certain… health issues." Jack snapped to attention when he heard her speak the last part of her sentence. He had come to greatly care about this woman hell, he had fallen in love with her somewhere along the line and seeing her upset like this was just churning all of those pleasant feelings back up to the surface.

"What? Why? What's wrong Sam?" He demanded quietly. His Irish accent mixed with his worried tone caused his H's to come out in an amusing way. Shepard laughed light-heartedly at that. Just like she always did.

Jack shook his head in an amused fashion, his short jet black faux hawk and dark coal coloured eyes glistening in the dim lighting. Carefully he took both of Sam's hands off of the freezing cold glass bottle and took them into his own larger ones. "Sammy… I'd like to know what is wrong. I deserve that much." His sentiment was warmed by the pearly white smile that clashed gorgeously with the black of his stubble that peppered his chiselled chin. Sam nodded her head weakly. In all fairness he did, they had been exceptionally close at one stage and that friendship seemed to have magically lasted all these years.

"Well Chakwas, you remember the doctor don't you?" She paused, giving Jack enough time to mull it over before nodding confidently and squeezing her hands softly in agreement with her question. "Yeah well, after the battle of the Citadel she patched me up more specifically right about here." Sam pointed to the faintly glowing large, white band aid that covered the right hand side of her face.

"Yeah, I saw the vids about you another human woman and a blue chick saving the Citadel. To be perfectly honest with you, you couldn't have done it more stylishly. If I do say so myself." Jack teased earning him a playful punch to the shoulder before Shepard returned her hand to his.

Shepard kept the breath-taking smile upon her face as she thought of Liara and how much the young asari doted upon her whilst she was in the infirmary. With that thought Sam abruptly removed both of her hands from Jacks soft grasp causing the young bartender to knit his brows slightly in confusion. "That blue chick is Liara, we are kind of seeing each other… well when I say we kind of I mean we ARE seeing one another." Jack simply nodded with her statement. Inside it crushed him like a tonne of bricks to a dozing builder. He barely managed to train his face into a neutral expression. Just when he thought that he may have the woman of his dreams, his fantasies, back with him he had somehow managed to lose her all over again.

"Well she was cute, I'll give you that. And plus I don't want to sound stereotypical here, but she is an asari so I'm guessing that she's smart to. Right?" Shepard smiled proudly. Jack had just described the woman of her heart to her perfectly… only not quite with the words that she would have used herself. Beautiful and perspicacious sprung to mind.

"Yeah that she is…" Sam trailed off. It suddenly seemed like she went from ecstatic to depressed in one swift movement.

Jack examined the breathtakingly beautiful woman sat before him, before chiming up himself. She was one of the few women in the entire universe that could wear BDU's and still manage to look like a glamour model, then there was that sharp wit to. This woman… Samantha Shepard… was the most perfect woman in the galaxy to him and to others to apparently. Jack remembered once, quite recently to, when a guy called Conrad Verner had found his way into the bar exclaiming of the things he would do for the woman sat before the Irishman now. Of how much he cared about her and apparently vice-versa. Jack didn't take a word of it as truth, but the jealousy was there never the less.

"What's up green eyes?" Jack asked with his perfect smile back in play. Shepard hadn't been called by the nick-name "green eyes" for what felt like an age and felt the same amused feeling that she always used to whenever the gent before her had said it. He called her this because of her unique olive-green eyes and the way they transfixed every person just by staring into them.

Sam let out a dramatic sigh causing Jack to laugh hard. Once the pair had gathered themselves back up to relative normality Sam began to speak for real this time however. "Doctor Chakwas was running tests on me." Shepard lifted her arm up and placed it on the bar in between herself and the bartender. Her arm had settled back a bit more now. The swelling from the skin-prick test had faded slightly, just leaving two columns of tiny scratches each circled with a dark black marker and labelled accordingly.

"Did you leave to Normandy as commander, just to go back test subject?" Jack teased as he examined the arm closely deftly running his fingers over the writing. Sam laughed softly at his point; he was right she looked a little… corpsey what with her unusually pale skin tone and all.

Shifting her arm out of the way so that she could grab her bottle and hold it with both hands like she had before. She regained her composure before continuing with her story. "As I was saying. Chakwas was running tests on me when she told me some horrible news…" Once again Jack grasped her hand, squeezing it comfortingly and signalling her that it was okay to continue. This time Shepard never hesitated or jolted her own hand away from his she just kept it there… no harm in a little comfort right? "After she'd finished running tests and stuff she told me that when I had this fixed." Once more Sam pointed to the glowing band aid upon her face. "She used a certain brand of medi-gel on the laceration and I reacted badly to the stuff…"

"So you were allergic?" Jack interrupted politely. Simply finishing off Sam's previous train of thought.

Shepard nodded positively at Jack in acknowledgment with his words. Giving the bartender that fuzzy feeling in his stomach that he always used to get when Sam agreed with him. "Bottom line yes, only Dr. Chakwas said that once a person shows an allergic tendency toward any type of medi-gel it has a chance of leaving you open to more and more allergies… basically it opens the flood gates to more problems." Jack nodded motioning that he understood what was being said so far. "I… I don't know what happened I… just… I don't know the red mist descended and I lost it… I…" Shepard trailed off. Provoking Jack to butt in with more of his ill-timed humour.

"My god Sam! You didn't kill Chakwas did you?" Shepard recoiled in shock, but once she caught sight of the cheeky grin upon her old top lieutenants' face, making her realize that he was joking.

"No I didn't you ass! But I came pretty damn close…" It was Jacks turn to be shocked now. He knew how tight Shepard's mother was with the good doctor and he also knew what a kind and pleasant person the doc was from first-hand experience with her. "I picked up the drip that was attached to my arm." Sam loosened her hand from Jacks grip and pointed at the purplish bruise beginning to appear upon the vain that ran above the joint that connected the forearm to the Humerus bone. Once she was sure that Jack understood she placed her hand back into his larger one. "Anyway… I picked up the drip and biotically slammed it into the wall just in front of both of us."

"What does this all mean, do you have to live off of a drip for the rest of your life now or something?" Jacks voice was heavy with concern. Even he was aware that if what he just said was true and she did need a drip for ever more then she would instantly lose he job as commander and would have to settle for a desk job or worse… working from home or worse still not having a job at all.

Shepard nodded weakly. "That's the gist of what I got before I flipped out and ran." Jack laughed, much to Shepard's chagrin. At first she didn't understand why he was laughing away like a madman, but then it finally dawned on her.

Jack composed himself somewhat before speaking once more. "You are aware that is the second doctor you've run out on? I thought you got over that?" Jack queried in jest earning him yet another punch to the shoulder. Both Sam and Jack laughed for the best part of a minute.

"I thought I did to, but Liara… the asari was waiting for me outside and when I stormed out of the med bay I… I pushed her away from me and told her to leave me alone." Shepard looked down and shook her head negatively completely disagreeing with her actions back then. "That is after I punched a huge hole in the bulkhead covering the elevator shaft." Sam added amusedly.

Jack laughed hysterically at that revelation. "I always thought that you were a fiery one Samantha!" He teased in between laughing fits. Sam was not laughing, but she was flashing her breath-taking smile once again as she watched the handsome bartender laugh himself into oblivion.

"Yeah, but that's not right. I should have told her what was up… instead I just ran away from her. How old am I? Seven?" Shepard reasoned seriously. Jack examined the distraught woman's face for a while. Whatever this, Liara was like she certainly had the commander wrapped around her little blue finger; he had never seen Sam this upset before.

"Well you could just go back to the Normandy and apologize." The strong bartender offered her, but she really didn't look like she wanted to face her lover right now. "How long are you docked here for Sam?" The Irishmen asked. Maybe just maybe he had a plan for her. That being said only she could dictate whether or not it was good enough.

"Until I meet with the council. That could be an infinite wait." Jack smiled with her statement. Whilst serving with Anderson he had learned what a bitch dealing with the council could be and never in his wildest imaginings could he have anticipated the great commander Shepard becoming the even more powerful: spectre Shepard. Although he knew how talented she was on the battlefield he just didn't think that the council would bite when it came to picking a human for the spectre ranks.

"Ah I see. Well I don't know if it helps but… I've had an idea."

Sam looked up to meet the steely gaze of the marine that she once served with and had even admitted to loving her. "Really? Did it hurt?" She asked jokingly.

Jack chuckled half sarcastically and half about how much he missed the sharp witted humour that Sam never failed to delivered with perfect timing. "Yes and no. Yes because I really do have an idea and no, I didn't hurt Samantha Shepard." Sam laughed at the creative use of her full name. Now that Jack was no longer under her in rank, he took advantage of free use of her name. Deep down he adored that name… Samantha it was an exquisite name that just rolled over the tongue perfectly. "Now are you going to hear me out or not?" This time his tone was stern and controlled, quite the change from his earlier teasing comments.

Sam nodded, before taking another sip from the green glass bottle. "Let's hear it then!" Shepard shouted humorously.

"My shift gets off in and around twenty minutes if Chakwas doesn't find you and drag you out of here by then –which I have no doubt that she is looking for you by the way- you can come stay with me for the night. Good plan or bad plan?" Jack quizzed the younger woman sat in front of him. "Then I can tell you what I'm really doing here." He added in a gravelly whisper.

"Bad plan…" Sam answered though her pearly white smile. "But, I'm in." Jack let out the breath that he didn't even remember holding in. Both of them laughed a little before Jack had to dash off the serve another customer.

Shepard sat silently basking in the classical 21st century music. That played quietly in the background mingling well with the sound of quiet chatter. Polishing off the bottle of water she signalled Jack over. "Can I get another of these barkeep?" Once again Shepard asked the question in jest through her beautiful white smile.

"Barkeep is clocking off now. Unless you've changed your tune?" There was a wisp of disappointment within his voice. And the reality of it was true he did want to make the most of their little reunion and ideally would have liked it to last forever, but she had Liara and he always had his work.

"We had a deal didn't we. I don't see Chakwas anywhere so I assume I was coming with you." Jack smiled as he playfully threw his dish cloth at her which only resulted in her throwing it back, directly at his face.

"No fair Shep… cheat!" He teased. Jack threw the dish cloth to a Salarian who was now making his way behind the bar. The Salarian gentleman caught the ball of cloth with both hands with a smile of his own in tow.

"There you go chief! Take care of her." Jack passed the Salarian a large set of keys before Shepard linked arms with him. Making their way out of the bar Sam noticed how beautiful the area surrounding them was. Whilst in her irritated state the first time she passed through she must have failed to notice it.

"Wow this place is… stunning." The words tumbled from Sam. She possessed no control over her mouth as she glanced around the beautiful area. The artificial sunlight of the presidium had now been altered to a delightful mixture of oranges, dark blues and purples, conveying the most perfect sunset she had ever seen. The water was still with only the faint sound of it rippling with the distant fountains the water reflected the clashing colours exquisitely. Waving bands of light shimmered across the white walls where what remained of the ever decreasing suns light reflected off of the water. All in all the view was sheer magnificence and could ease the most aggravated of tensions.

Jack turned to face the equally magnificent woman before him gently taking her hands into his own and pulling her closer to him. Shepard didn't know what it was, but she felt herself oblige to his movements not even putting up a fight she fell into his warm embrace. Snuggling herself deeper into his strong, toned arms. _**'He smells good.'**_ She thought to herself as she took in the intense, manly smell of his cologne. "The view is only stunning because you're in it…" The man squeezed her softly, relishing the feel of her perfectly sculpted body against his own well-toned one. The sensation of her breath tickling against his neck made him feel like his knees were about to melt leaving him in a gooey pile upon the floor.

Jack pulled away slightly, but still remained embracing the beautiful young woman. Deftly he placed his index finger underneath Sam's chin and pulled her in for a tender kiss, which lasted for no longer than half a minute. Shepard was hit with hundreds of images each one capturing the delicate beauty and innocence of Dr. Liara T'soni. _**'What am I doing!' **_Shepard mentally bitch-slapped herself. Carefully Sam pulled away completely from the slightly older gentlemen only leaving the pairs hands and fingers intertwined. "Jack…" Shepard whispered huskily. She honestly did not know where she would go from there. All she did know was that she had to stop this, and now, before she did something she would regret forever more.

"I know. You can't because of Liara, but she needn't know. You are so beautiful Samantha and although I don't know the girl I think she doesn't deserve you hell, I don't deserve you, but I can damn well try." Shepard was shocked at his words. He was right he didn't know Liara and who the hell gave him the right to say such a horrid thing? If anything Sam didn't deserve Liara. That beautiful young asari had been through a god damn lot in the past months and demanded a lot more respect than that.

Sam's thoughts we put on hold when Jack's lips once again came crashing down upon her own. This time however it wasn't a tender kiss so much as a lustful one. Jack pinned Sam against the nearest wall she put up a fight, but in the end she gave in and allowed Jack to have his way, muffled sighs of pleasure were released from deep within her throat as Jacks hand tenderly grazed the small of her back.

"She needn't to know…" Sam whispered his exact words breathlessly whilst pressing their foreheads together their noses touching one another's.

Jack lent in for another smouldering meeting between her fine mouth and his own only to be stopped when Shepard finger rested against his slightly swollen lips. Jack sighed in mock irritation; he understood what she was saying internally and her thoughts were the right ones they should do this behind closed doors it would only take one Westerlund News reporter to take the wrong turning, and bam **'spectre Shepard and a mysterious man are caught compromising position.**' Plus that wouldn't just end her career and most likely his, but it would also destroy what she had with Liara. And after all Jack had agreed that the asari never need know about their little… rendezvous and as much as he wanted to keep Sam all to himself forever more he understood that that was not the case for her and perhaps being with the woman of his fantasies for just one night might quell his uncontrollable hunger for her.

"Right you are green eyes; it's just around the corner and up the steps. Here." Jack stepped back reluctantly from Shepard and took her hand into his own. The two made their way up the staircase pressing and orally assaulting one another against every single solid object that stood between Sam, Jack and his apartment. Once the pair reached his home they made short work of each other's clothes. Sam practically ripped Jacks Grey and black plaid shirt of, revealing his smooth, toned chest and defined abs.

Sam licked her lips lustfully, biting her bottom lip tightly as she did so. Jack followed suit deftly removing her BDU's, removing each item from her own well defined body at an agonizingly slow pace. Sam softly looped her hands around the back of the tall man's neck pulling him into another smouldering, passionate kiss. Jack bided his time before pulling away from her embrace, grabbing the woman's biceps and letting his hand slid down her forearms until they met her soft long fingers. The ex-marine guided the woman who had ruled his world for so long over to his king sized bed. Gently Jack lay Sam down upon the crisp tan sheets running his hands over her body as he did so.

Suddenly Jacks attention was snapped up to the nasty looking gash upon the otherwise flawless flesh around his one night lovers' shoulder. "Sammy, what happened to you?" Sam was pulled from her pleasure filled daze back into the real world where she was greeted by the strong, chiselled features of Jack.

Sam shook her head negatively. "Don't worry about that Jack; it's just where Saren caught me with his talon, it doesn't even hurt anymore… honestly." Jack nodded hesitantly. He combined the shoulder wound with the various other bruises that covered her body and the nasty head wound she had told him about earlier. The man didn't want to do anything to hurt her, but she did insist that she was fine. Whether or not that was the truth he'd never know.

"Only if you are absolutely sure Samantha?" This time she nodded her head positively. Once again looping her hands around the back of Jacks neck. She pulled him in for another osculation tongues and all. Once the pair began getting heated Sam felt Jacks large member become harder against her leg only serving to spur her on further. She tried to roll Jack over so that she would be the dominating one between the two of them, but Jack simply disallowed it and held her firm, but gently against the comforting caress of the silky surface that were the bed sheets.

"Not today I think." The Irishman whispered sensually into her ear. "I've wanted to do this with you for so long, at least let me have it my way." What he said was more of a statement as opposed to a question. Jack moved his lips away from Sam's mouth and began trailing hot kisses along her jawline and all the way down to her neck. Shepard released her gentle grip from around his neck and stretched them down, pressing them down against the small of his back in turn pulling his body closer to hers. Now with all of their clothes removed Jack could now take full advantage of his position not that Sam minded at all. The rugged Irishman gently glided his manhood into Sam's warm core causing her to moan softly with pleasure. At Jacks thrusts were slow and steadily paced to begin with as his eyes explored the sexy spectre's body. He felt Shepard tighten up under his ministrations so he sped up with his thrusts a little more, eliciting more pleasured sounds to emit from Sam as she clutched the sheets bunching them tightly in her clenched fists. Jack let out his own deep, gravelly moan as he felt her tighten up around his thick member.

"Sam…" Jack whispered breathlessly. He was quickly silenced when Shepard's hands snaked over his toned shoulder blades and around to the back of his neck, pulling him closer towards her and kissing him heatedly the pair's tongues battled for dominance, but once again he won when he felt her shiver and cry his name out loudly. _**'Looks like I've hit the sweet spot."**_ The ex-marine thought smugly. Shepard's pleasured cries only served to spur him on as he repeatedly stroked at her g-spot. By now Jacks movements had become powerful. Shepard began to place a trail of soft kisses up and along the Irishman's throat and neck, hearing him moan with the sheer bliss that she was giving him was like a drug to her.

Jack could not believe that he was here right now with Samantha Shepard, saviour of the Citadel and ruler of his heart for the vast majority of the past two years even whilst they neither one of them had seen the other for any of that time. He had never been able to not think about her. Every passing day was filled with fantasies and daydreams about what it would be like to touch her bare flesh for just for a split second. What his skin would feel like upon hers and what her body looked like under those tight blue BDU's. But now he was actually here with her in his arms making love to her. Right now Jack didn't want to be anywhere else in the universe.

Sam's breathing was more erratic now which indicated that she was coming close. Jack however never wanted this moment to end, but he knew that it would have to at some point. With that thought he pulled himself nearly completely out of Shepard before trusting solidly back in. Both of them moaned loudly. Jack felt Sam tighten up dramatically around his manhood for a few seconds before released his seed freely into her. Both Jack and Sam were left breathless afterwards the Irishman flopped over to the side of Shepard and pulled her still shivering body next to his own knocking over his bedside calendar as he did so, he reached one of his long arms out of the bed sheet and felt around the floor for the illusive calendar. Eventually Jack found it and held it up in front of himself and Shepard, before resting it back upon the night stand. _**'Is that the date?' **_Sam thought wearily. After a period of comfortable silence, the aftershocks of both of their intense orgasms began to wear off leaving them more than a little exhausted. Sam drifted off first into a solid deep sleep whilst still being held close to Jack with his strong tanned arms.

The bright artificial light pierced through her half closed eyelids bringing her out of the deep sleep that had ruled over her not five minutes ago. At first Sam was a little worried about where she was then slowly it dawned on her. _**'Jack…' **_She thought nervously noticing the ex-marine that lay sound asleep beside her. Checking the clock upon the wall she realized the time. _**'Maybe if I'm quick enough and quiet enough, I can get out of here and back on to the Normandy without anyone noticing.' **_The idea formed in her mind, dominating over all other thoughts. With the adrenalin still freshly pumping around her body perhaps it was just the fact that she couldn't think of anything else.

Deftly she slipped out of the large silky bed and silently padded her way through the apartment, picking up any pieces of her clothing that she discovered along the way. Once she was sure that all of her clothing and person affects were in order Sam slipped out of the door only stopping once to straighten out her clothes before pacing swiftly back to her ship. Shepard laughed internally. _**'I didn't ever think that I would have to do that again…' **_It was a thought. After the huge debriefing she received off of doctors; Carter and Chakwas add that to the sheer amount of psychological therapy that she was put through by orders of David Anderson involving her apparent "relationship" with the CMO's protégé.

Before Sam knew it she was at the Normandy's decon chamber, pausing once again to check her appearance in the reflective surface of the door. _**'Picture perfect.'**_ The commander thought vainly. The small set of doors swung open revealing the dull interior of the small frigate. _**'Here we go…' **_Shepard braced herself just in case a deranged Chakwas lunged at her with more syringes, but this time Shepard's luck was not against her so much as with her. Walking fully into the ship she looked down the walkway towards the CIC.

"Hey Commander!" Sam was startled from her watch out position when the rather chirpy pilot decided to make his presence known. Shepard made her way over to where the young lieutenant sat comfortably in his usual seat. Once she had settled herself down upon the armrest of the co-pilots seat Joker decided to pipe up once more. "Permission to speak freely, commander?" Shepard was reluctant to grant it, she felt like she had a migraine forming and was in no mood to deal with his cheap wise cracks.

Sam said nothing, but just nodded her head in approval with his small request. "Okay here goes. Where the hell have you been!" He whispered sharply, further startling the spectre.

Shepard shook her head expelling any notion that she was in-fact dreaming that the usually pleasant pilot was having a dig at her. "What? Why? What have I done now?" Came a slurry of mixed questions, not one of them missing Jokers astute hearing.

"What have yo- What have you done wrong? Uhm okay let me see… AH YES! First you quite literally punch you're way out of the mess hall add to that the fact that you run away from the damned med bay!" Jeff took in a deep breath, trying to calm his usually cool temper. "Is that a good enough explanation for you commander?" The question was rhetorical this was Joker after all. Sam once again said nothing, but she just stood up stiffly. "And to top all of tha-"

"Shut up!" Shepard interrupted the pilot in a whisper. Her words plainly seething with repressed anger.

Joker widened his eyes with the commanding officers words, but even that wasn't enough to deter him and his mouth. Joker comically motioned his CO to sit back down and as the kind person of the people that she was; she complied although her movements were more than a little hesitant. "As I was saying, to top off all of that Chakwas, Ashley and Liara have literally been all over the station looking for you… where have you been anyway?" This time the pilots' voice was quiet and controlled mismatching with his curious facial expression.

Her heart cracked into two within her chest. _**'Liara…' **_She thought_** 'How could I do this to such a warm, kind-hearted soul. The love of my life…' **_Shepard tried hard to stuff all of her emotions into a box and put them away for another time, but it was not working. More than anything else she was mad, mad with herself for doing such a terrible thing to such a beautiful person, both inside and outside. And not to mention the fear that raged throughout her body, how in the name of god was she supposed to tell her lover this type of thing. _**'Hey babe do you want to get something to eat? Oh yeah and by the way… I kind of slept with someone else…' **_Shepard chortled quietly under her breath at her imagination, but she was still wondering about how to find a way to tell Liara the heart-wrenching news without having to take a singularity to the face.

"What are you laughing about commander?" Once again the pilots' voice snapped her and her conscience apart leaving her with an odd lonely feeling in her gut.

She shook her head hopefully dispelling his previous question. "Nothing Joker. What did you say before?" Joker let out a genuinely irritated sigh. Flinging his head back on his neck so he was looking up at the ceiling for a brief second before focusing back upon the spectre. "I was just asking where you were last night. You didn't sleep on the streets did you?" Shepard more likely than not would have taken his question seriously had she not taken notice of the small smirk that played upon his lips.

Once again the spectre shook her head. This time with her own smile on show although it did betray her true feelings. "No Jeffrey… I did not sleep on the streets." Joker giggled at the fact that he had just got her to repeat such a ridiculous notion.

"Okay then." Joker scratched his dark brown coloured beard, which he often did at times of thought. Suddenly a sullen look spread across his face. "You didn't hook up with some random person… did you?" He seemed genuinely worried to Sam's surprise which only hurt her more. If this did spell the end for her and Liara then how and indeed what would she tell people if they asked why? Shepard quickly grabbed a firm grasp of her quickly loosening bearings before addressing the young man.

"What! No! Why would you even say that?" Shepard thought that she did alright in the lying department this time, but looking at Jokers neutral expression she couldn't tell whether it had been too quick of judgement or not.

Joker nodded hesitantly. "Good. I'd hate to see you do anything so stupid, especially not to Miss prothean expert." Emotional pain lanced through Shepard's heart once more crippling her voice box temporarily. Clearing the lump out that had appeared within her throat she stood up straight. Sam decided it was high-time she got some real sleep. "Yeah, I'll bear that in mind." She mindfully patted the lieutenants' shoulder before making her way down the currently empty walkway.

Once he was sure that she was out of eye line and earshot he shook his head dejectedly. "What have you done Shepard…?" He uttered under his breath before continuing along with the Normandy's controls. "What. Have. You. Done…"

* * *

Shepard meandered down the metallic staircase slowly gliding her hand over the railing as she did so. Once she had reached the bottom she took note of the cordoned off walkway next to the elevator and its surrounding bulkhead. It usually provided a shortcut to her quarters, but it looked like where she had punched through the metal it had caused some serious damage. Walking around to the next passage –in front of the med bay door- she debated whether or not to go and apologize to Chakwas and go straight through to the med bay lab to tell her lover what she'd regretfully just done. Or on the other hand she could just straight to bed and deal with that subject whenever it was raised. Sam cowardly opted for the latter. No matter how much time she put aside for when she could tell the poor maiden asari it was never enough and Shepard would just keep getting choked up over it every single time she thought about it.

Steadily the spectre walked passed the large dinner table groping the backs of the seats as she travelled along. Letting out a shaky sigh she punched the panel that would grant her access to her comfortable and… private cabin. As Sam entered she noticed the small mound underneath the bed sheets.

Shepard's chest suddenly became restricted when she spotted the azure blue hand poking slightly out of the covers. _**'Liara…'**_ Her conscience cruelly whispered to her. She fought against the urge to just make a mad dash back out of the room and simply hide somewhere. Sam had already heard from Jokers mouth how distraught the woman was and would not want to bring any more of that pain back on to her lover… not now, not ever. Silently Sam padded over to the bedside dresser after a few seconds of silent fumbling in the darkness and a string internal curses she had found her night clothes. As the commander undressed herself she winced with the familiar sensation of the slightly cooler air hitting her exposed skin it reminded her of things she didn't care nor wish to remember right now.

Quietly she slipped on her black N7 t-shirt and gym shorts. Careful not to wake the gorgeous archaeologist. Sam slid into the bed and under the covers gently embracing her lover from behind as she did so. Much to the spectre's surprise Liara groaned groggily –having not long gotten into bed herself- In one slow but graceful movement Liara had turned around in her lovers embrace, planting her face cosily into the crook of Shepard's neck. "Samantha…" Liara whispered contently as she settled herself into her beloveds caress.

A couple of sleepless guilt-filled minutes passed for Sam. She just couldn't sleep not after what she had just done anyway. Shepard heard her lover stir once again, but this time Liara was fully awake as she raised her head and focused her beautiful pale blue eyes squarely upon the olive green ones of her lover. "Why do you smell different?" Liara asked curiously.

Shepard gulped, hard as she fought to find the courage to tell her sweet, sweet Liara about the huge mistake she had just made. How could she have been so foolish? Come to think of it Sam herself could smell Jack's cologne on herself. _**'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!' **_Once again Shepard bitch-slapped herself.

"Well…"

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry to those mega Liara fans out there, but this little piece of harmful, Liara hurting, story is required to make my story what it is. Again my apologies. And also sorry that this particular chapter isn't very… what's the word… actioney, but again this is crucial to the story so, suck it up fans *clears throat* pardon the pun…! Also, I promise that I will update this soon. I swear!


	8. Anger and Loss

**Mass Effect: An Epic Tale Chapter 8. **

Peewit22

A/N: Chapter eight here I come!

Disclaimer: I would just like to say as much as I wish I did, I do not own Bioware or any of its characters. Enjoy people!

* * *

Liara looked deep into Sam's piercing green eyes, as if trying to gage what the spectre was going to say. But Sam however, had that distant look within her eyes that told the maiden, whatever it was that would be said may not necessarily be a good thing.

Shepard looked just as deeply into Liara's pale blue eyes. She was also trying to gage just what it was that she was supposed to say to her, and how could she say it without causing a massive argument. The spectre had given up on the 'trying to skip an argument' idea; it was inevitable that there would be some kind of verbal assault, or worse… a physical one…

"Liara… I." The young asari's gaze grew extremely concerned and more than a little anxious. "Oh god! What have I done!" Shepard whispered harshly. She bolted out of the bed causing Liara to recoil in shock at the sudden movement. Sam began pacing the floor around the foot of the bed furiously, whilst rubbing her temples in an equally furious manner as if trying to stem the oncoming migraine that she felt building deep within her skull.

Liara herself had now climbed out of the comfortable embrace of the bed and its covers. Steadily -as not to scare off the irate woman before her- and proceeded over to the still pacing spectre. "Samantha, tell me… what is wrong?" The maiden's eyes flickered from each of the spectre's own, in almost a pleading fashion. She continued to gently stop the pacing human, turning her around carefully so that they were now face to face. Hand in hand. "Please my love?" This time Liara's tone really was a pleading one and Shepard couldn't help but wince as the guilt spiked like an icicle within her heart.

Sam whipped her hands quickly out of her lovers own, turning her back towards the young asari once more. Shepard stalked over to the desk, resting both of her palms flat down upon its cold, metallic surface as she forced the entirety of her upper body's weight on to it. She drew in a shaky breath, as she felt Liara come up behind her. The asari wrapped both of her slender blue arms around the commanders' waist.

"My love, you must tell me what it is that is causing you such distress. Perhaps we can work through it together?" Liara voice was to kind; Sam did not deserve this kind of treatment. Right now Samantha Shepard belonged in a mechanics box, seeing as she was such a tool. These thoughts only served to spur Shepard's heart to seize up more and more, until eventually it would become nothing more than an icy block lodged deep within her selfish chest.

The spectre snorted in voluntarily at Liara's previous remark. "Oh, if you knew what I did you wouldn't be saying that…" Sam trailed off. She was currently seething in self-loathing and horror at what she had just done with that damned bartender. Attempting to antagonise the woman of her heart was not doing her any favours either.

"Please love… I beg you to tell me what is wrong!" The maiden sternly pulled the commander's strong form around to once again to face her. Liara's big expressive dough eyes always caught Shepard when she least expected it, which explains why she tried pretty damn hard to avoid looking directly into them. What Sam had forgotten however, was that Liara could give as hard as she got. The beautiful asari cupped her chin delicately, raising it so that Shepard had no option but to look into those gorgeous pale blue orbs. "I need you to talk with me. Tell me what is hurting you, so that I can ease some of that pain… please?" Liara's voice was barely more than a whisper, but it did not need to be. Her musical tone was thick with various emotions –to many to name individually- Shepard thought that it was high time she grew up, and bit the bullet… unfortunately however, that was often easier said that literally done.

"Liara… I … met someone… whilst I was out. He was an old friend of mine… of the Normandy's really. And we kind of… hit it off." Sam paused to look into her loves eyes. She still could not see anything that resembled understanding. All she saw was more like confusion.

"Hit it off?" Liara asked worriedly. She did not need to be a doctor to know that that meant something good… usually, but mixed in with Samantha's forlorn expression and grave tone, she could not be sure.

"I…" Shepard let out an irritated sigh. She was trying to gage her words so that they would come out right, but she was not kidding anyone, these words would never come out right. "I… slept with him…" Sam muttered. Her neck went limp and her gaze fell to the floor. There was a period of awkward silence lingering around the room; neither Liara nor Shepard had said anything yet.

Liara was stunned. What was she supposed to do? She had literally given herself, body and soul, to this woman and in turn she goes off to sleep with a stranger! Large amounts of jealousy and sheer rage reared up within the maiden, yet she didn't know how to release it. Liara studied the limp form of the spectre… her spectre. Examining closely and noticing how ashamed the human looked. This however did not stall the violent torrent of resentment that flowed freely within her veins. Liara could not prevent what she did next. The young asari raised her hand –which was now glowing with the sickly biotic blue- and she swung it, clenching her eyes as she heard –and felt- her hand make contact with Sam's face producing an evil sound.

The young maiden looked back down at Shepard's still hanging head. She took particular note of the bright blood-red glow that had begun to flicker violently underneath the large white band aid across Sam's forehead, as well as the spectre's tightly clenched jaw muscles. Concern suddenly struck the asari as she realized which side she had just hit Sam on… her bad side. "Shepard?" Liara inquired as she cupped the commander's face gently, tilting it slightly so she could get a better look at the affected area.

Sam made short work of removing Liara's delicate hands from her very pained face. "No Liara, I'm fine." She stood up straight and brushed passed the beautiful maiden –who was still staring at her with eyes containing nothing but worry and fear- "I am so sorry for having to tell you what I just did." Shepard lent against the wall next to her door. She looked back up to see Liara standing with her back facing the commander. "Liara?"

"What in the name of the goddess are you playing at!" Any sign of the kind, considerate Liara from five moments ago had vanished now -and understandably so. Sam probably would have reacted in a similar fashion, only without the hitting. Not that she would have thought Liara capable of doing such an awful thing to her in the first place.

Sam struggled to find any words at all, that she could use to calm the furious woman down. She knew that nothing short of begging would ever help her with this. "I don't know, Chakwas had just told me about… I was upset and he was there."

"About what?" Liara demanded, in an uncharacteristically loud pitch of voice. Right now the young asari had completely forgotten about what Chakwas had told her of Shepard's current condition, and even if she did know, Sam doubted very much that the asari's reaction would have changed.

"About the… tests…" She mumbled quietly.

Liara paused her frantic pacing immediately when she remembered the reason why Shepard's forehead was aglow. "Oh…" The asari's heart fell as she carefully walked over to where Samantha was leaning against the wall. "I was told about that. Are you okay?" Once again the kind hearted young archaeologist slipped back in to play. Shepard winced with irritation at Liara's constant character change. Still in cautious mode, Liara reached up to cup her loves pained face, only to have it delicately pushed away again by the growingly frustrated spectre. Sam felt that she didn't deserve this beautiful asari's sympathy right now… or ever really for that matter.

"Okay? No. I don't care how I feel right now either way." Shepard whispered. Once again she walked away from Liara. The asari in question took note that Shepard was edging ever closer towards the exit.

Liara shook her head slightly, as if to shake away the jealous rage and anger that was building itself up like a brick wall within her. However Liara's attempts proved unsuccessful. "I am sorry that I struck you Samantha, I really am, but I cannot do this right now! We claimed our love for one another. I am not sure what that means to most humans, but to the asari that means staying faithful. Which seems like something you have trouble doing!" Shepard opened her mouth to protest, but Liara's cross expression told her to go against that particular impulse. "This is not just about what you did today, yesterday or even tomorrow! This is about my trust for you. That trust that you have indeed broken! How are we supposed to get past this Samantha?" Liara demanded once again, in the same stern yet worried tone of voice.

"I don't know…" Shepard whispered as she hung her head in shame once again.

Liara had worked hard to pluck up the courage to admit her feelings toward the spectre originally, and this whole issue made her feel as though Sam had just thrown it right back at her. But then again the asari archaeologist could not bear to think of life without the woman that she still loved, yet she still had to ask the question. "Can we ever move past this?" The archaeologist was surprised by Shepard's reaction. Mainly because the soldier didn't have one, not even a flinch.

"That is your decision to make Liara… do you think that you could ever trust me again?" Shepard's voice was emotionless, which scared Liara for some reason beyond her comprehension.

Liara shook her head negatively. Inside it felt like Shepard had been stabbed… several times with a rusty blade, even though her exterior was a picture of coolness and calm. "I am unsure Samantha. I love you. I always will, but that trust has been irreparably damaged and I am not certain that I will ever get past your betrayal." Liara's sweet voice was breaking, thick with emotion. Shepard watched as the usually strong young asari's eyes welled up with tears. Sam let her cool and calm mask slip for a moment. She pulled the lithe form of her lover towards her and captured her in a tight embrace. Shepard felt the shoulder of her BDU's begin to dampen almost instantly, indicating that the young archaeologist was indeed weeping. Subconsciously, Sam tightened her hold around Liara.

"I am the sorriest person in the entire 'verse right now; I can assure you of that…" Shepard whispered into her still sobbing lover's ear. Liara pulled herself away from her spectre –only slightly- and stared intently into her loves piercing olive green eyes; she knew that she would never stay mad at her forever. And there was also no doubt in her mind that Samantha was sincerely sorry about what she had done.

The asari peeled herself away from Shepard completely now, though the pair kept their eyes locked together at all times. Liara nodded confidently. "I trust that the words you speak are the truth." Shepard smiled in relief. Although she knew it would not be that easy to get back into the asari's good books -and rightly so to- "But I need some time Samantha… I hope that you understand?"

Shepard kept her smile going, even if it had turned into a false one. At least there was still a chance for her and Liara, next time –if there was a next time- she would make sure that she wouldn't screw it up. "Yes, I understand. I will try and stay out of your way for a while." Shepard sounded a little dejected when she spoke the last few words of her sentiment, and what she said in itself caused Liara to recoil slightly.

"I do not wish for you to 'stay out of my way' completely. We can still talk and so forth. I just need you to remember that my trust needs time to heal. If it can that is…" Liara placed a soft kiss upon Sam's cheek, before heading over to where her scientist's apparel was lay down upon the dresser.

"You're leaving?"

Liara nodded sadly. "Yes. I need time to… think…" The asari changed more quickly than usual, which had rung a warning bell for the spectre.

'_**She wants to get out of here as soon as possible.' **_Shepard pondered internally. The spectre knew well enough not to poke, so she let the rather erratic scientist leave her cabin without another word. She also knew how large of a second chance it was that Liara was prepared to give her. Anyone else would have let go of her already, but not Liara… never Liara. And Sam was prepared to make this one really count.

* * *

Once Liara entered the med bay, she checked to make sure that there was not another soul around. Once she was sure that this was the case, she clumsily stepped back, slamming against the cold metallic bulkhead behind her. Slowly she slid down the wall, tears once again pricking at her eyes. _**'Why did she have to do this?'**_ Liara pleaded internally. She was happy with the woman that she had loved from a distance for so long, and now that Shepard was actually hers, Liara had let her go which left the woman of her heart to go and share one of the most special thing two people can do together, with another person! Silent, cold tears mutinied against her will as they trickled slowly down her flushed cheeks. Liara drew her knees closer to her face, resting her arms upon them –and shortly followed by her head- she whimpered and wept softly into her folded arms. Her mind reeled through thoughts of Sam and… him, whoever he was. Shaking her head to rid herself of these bad thoughts, she turned them to happier times. Times that her lover had spent with her. And her alone.

* * *

_**After Noveria:**_

_**Liara sat in brief silence whilst the rest of the ground team discussed what their next move should be. Chief Williams suggested adamantly that we should head straight for the Mu relay -as per Benezia's suggestion- but Shepard was quick enough to shoot that idea down, along with a list of various complications.**_

"_**The commander is right. We cannot rush off blind. We still need to learn more about Saren." Liara chipped in, gaining her a very sour look from Ashley.**_

_**Keeping her snarl in place, Ashley decided to give to young asari a piece of her own mind. "Who put you in charge? Did the commander resign whilst I wasn't looking?"**_

_**Shepard did not stand for any of her crewmates arguing in front of her, or in front of anyone else to be perfectly honest. This time was no different. "Hey!" Shepard said tersely as she stepped over to where Ashley was now cowering in her chair. "Don't talk to your crewmates like that! EVER! Are we on the same line here chief?" The spectre's finger only rested about an inch away from Ash's nose, causing the gunnery chief to gulp loudly.**_

"_**Affirmative ma'am!" Ashley bolted up from her seat. She stood ram-rod straight as she saluted to the commander crisply.**_

_**Shepard shook her head amusedly at the chiefs little display. "At ease soldier." Ashley quickly complied this time, in an avid attempt to avoid more scolding from the person she had come to think of as her mentor.**_

_**Instead of returning to her seat, the spectre remained standing in the centre of the comm room. Shepard looked at each member of the ground briefly. She noticed the mental exhaustion in close to everybody's eyes –with Wrex as the exception, of course- she decided it was best to let them get some shut eye and so on, whilst she calculated a plan for their next fight. "It's been a rough day..." Sam paused slightly as she looked kindly at Liara, who gave her a little smile in return. Satisfied that the scientist was okay, Shepard continued. "I think everyone will be better off after some down-time. Dismissed." **_

_**With that, the small group of warriors stood to their collective feet and began filtering out of the door. Leaving the commander to her thoughts for a short time. Ultimately, Shepard was glad to have gotten the matriarch off of Noveria safely. Not for herself or the mission, but for Liara. The poor asari had been through an awful lot within the past couple of months, and Shepard had been to speak with the shy scientist when she was able to. The pair had come to be close friends over a relatively short time. Although, the particular discussion that Liara had shared with Sam the last time, had led them down a slightly different path… one which had further led on to discussions about their feelings and so on and eventually that nights talks were sealed with a chaste, but awesomely passionate kiss.**_

"_**Noveria report is away, Commander. Do you want me to patch you through to the council?" Shepard was snapped out of her enjoyable reverie, by the brash and oddly cheerful tone of Jokers voice.**_

_**Shaking her head slightly to expel any 'impure' thoughts she may have been entertaining. Shepard stepped up into the centre of the room. She watched patiently as the three alien bodies began the fizzle into life in front her, before they finally settled into their usual impalpable forms. As per usual, the asari councillor was the first of the trio to quickly jump into action.**_

"_**Do not cut me off like the last time commander. I fail to find it amusing." The asari spoke in a bland, almost monotone voice. She did not convey how annoyed she actually was, but if Sam was a betting woman, she would have placed all of her credits on 'very.'**_

_**Shepard did actually regret cutting of the council members the last time that they had spoken. And in all honestly, she had not really meant to have cut them off the way she did – perhaps not at all. Her reactions added to her already annoyed state, had clouded her judgement and she had taken out on her superiors… which was probably not the best move in the books either…**_

_**Embarrassed by her previous inactions, she rubbed the back of her neck –which was always one way to tell when the commander was embarrassed- "Yes councillor Tevos. I cannot apologize enough for my actions at that point. The same goes for Councilmen Velarn and Solcin." Shepard bowed her head politely in the trio's direction, for added emphasis alongside her apology. For once in Shepard's entire time as a spectre she had never seen a more shocked group of people. Especially the asari councillor – Tevos, who had previously bore the brunt of the spectres rage.**_

"_**Yes… well, thank you… Commander Shepard. You apologies are accepted by all of us." Tevos replied once she had managed to rein in her shock. The asari smiled warmly at Shepard, shocking the spectre in turn. Sam had never seen the council display any emotion at all, yet here she was standing before them as they smiled back at her –all except for Velarn anyway- The turian simply grunted in response to Shepard's apology. Velarn was never Shepard's number one fan; he had made that very clear from the beginning of her spectre hood. He tolerated her –in small doses anyway- Shepard had always wondered whether it was something that she had said or done that had offended the oafish turian, but over time she learned that she did not really care much about his thoughts or feelings.**_

"_**Yes commander, we appreciate your cooperativeness." Solcin, the salarian councilman interjected. "We would prefer it if we could both work as one." He added cheerfully. Sam flashed her breath-taking smile in response to their collective reactions. Although Velarn would never admit aloud he did not actually dislike this woman really, he was just not a big fan of her methods. **_

"_**It would be my privilege." Shepard kept the smile on her face even as she spoke. Deep down she liked the council, more commonly, the asari and the salarian councillors, even if they did not heed to her repeated warnings involving the reaper threat. The turian himself was okay… sometimes, but when he rallied the other councillors into forcing her into doing things that she and her crew opposed to, it really got under her skin. Even Garrus was irritated by the turians way of doing things, and that was saying something. "Anyway councillors, I think that we had a report to discuss?" Sam edged them towards ending their talk. She was starting to get a little antsy about getting to work on the teams' plan of action. Add to that the fact that she was also feeling more than a little thirsty.**_

"_**Yes you are right." Velarn answered tersely. "Are your reports correct commander? Rachni on Noveria?" He asked in that disbelieving tone of his, that Shepard had heard to many times to count.**_

_**Solcin interrupted before Velarn could begin one of his Shepard centric rants. "Is it true that you found them and released the queen? I am not judging your actions commander; know that we merely need to verify the facts." The salarians tone was light-hearted and unassuming, which put Sam at ease somewhat. However the look within Velarns eyes seemed to show otherwise.**_

_**The asari councillor nodded in agreement with Solcin's statement. "Yes commander. What my colleague says is true. Your report seems a little out of the ordinary, but we are willing to accept your words." The asari's tone was as light and feathery as was that of Solcin's. Maybe Shepard had finally broken down the barrier that caused the rift between her and her bosses. Although she seriously doubted it herself… there must have been a reason for this kindly attitude, surely… **_

_**Shepard also nodded confidently. Her words were nothing but the truth and she would be willing to tell that to anyone who doubted her. With a quick glimpse over to Velarn, she decided to pipe up. "Yes. My reports are one-hundred percent accurate. There is also security footage from the peak 15 facility, along with the samples that were taken from the remains of those that were unfortunately burnt by the Rachni's acid as well as some from the rachni themselves." Shepard listed just a few things that proved this species existence. There was no denying it this time, the rachni were alive once more, but this time Shepard's reports seemed adamant that the rachni were on her side, and for all intents and purposes she was right until proven otherwise –if proven otherwise-**_

_**The asari matron checked a data-pad for anything else on the agenda. When nothing else was found she looked back up to the spectre, who must have been waiting patiently. Although as the council were stood in a holo-graphic interface they could not physically see what Shepard was actually doing. "Thank you for your time commander, I understand that you have precious little left of it these days. We will make sure to be in touch if any other developments appear. Good luck Spectre Shepard." With a polite nod from Sam, the holo-graphic forms faded away into nothingness once more. With a small sigh, Shepard started toward the door.**_

_**Standing in between the two armed marines that guarded the comm room, Sam could not decide where to head first. And then, out of the blue –pardon the pun- a thought pinged within her prothean altered mind. 'I will go and check up on Liara… I should see how she is doing.' Although the mission to Noveria was as much of a success it could be, seeing Benezia in such a state couldn't have been easy. Shepard just thanked whatever deity that was handy, that she -or Liara- did not have to end the young scientists, mother's life. Pacing down the stairs at a fair pace, Shepard could not help but overhear a conversation between Ashley and Kaidan, who –from what Sam could only assume- were standing by Kaidans usual workspace, next to the dreaded mess hall television.**_

"_**I think that would be kind of you chief. Even though lady Benezia survived whatever happened down in those labs, I think that Dr. T'soni would appreciate it… I think that the commander would to." Kaidans soft, tender voice wisped through Shepard's eardrums. Sam did not know whether to intervene now or just to let whatever the hell she and the male marine were talking about happen. Shepard opted for a compromise, if she heard anything untoward she would interrupt, she doubted she would however. If Kaidan approved of it then whatever it was couldn't have been all that bad… surely not.**_

"_**So you think that the doctor will accept my apology?" Ashley asked in a worried tone. Try as she might, she just could not shake that odd feeling of fear and reverence whenever she spoke to the archaeologist. The same went for when she spoke with Shepard. 'Maybe that is why everyone was saying how good the skipper and Liara would be together.' Ash pondered internally.**_

_**Kaidan nodded vigorously. "I'm not sure if she understands the concept though, not a lot of people aboard the Normandy pay her any respect unfortunately..." Kaidan finished sadly. In a way he felt sorry for the asari. He knew all too well what it was like to be the newbie, but with everything that was going on with matriarch Benezia, it must have been like… twenty times worse for her, probably even more than that.**_

_**Williams nodded forlornly along with the lieutenant's statement. Before a sudden rush of anger and rage flushed through her veins. "Yeah, someone should really pay those douchebags a lesson." Ash growled as she cracked her knuckled to produce the sickly sound of clicking bones.**_

"_**Chief, I thought you didn't like having aliens aboard?" Kaidan asked sardonically. He once remembered being told by Wrex about how Shepard had told her to keep her opinions to herself and to leave her CREWMATES well alone.**_

_**Ashley shook her head negatively. "I did when Wrex, Garrus, Tali and Dr. T'soni first joined up with the Normandy, but after a while I got to know them as individuals and I learned how much alike we really are."**_

_**Kaidan smiled at Ashley's sudden change of heart. "It also doesn't hurt to have the commander scold you does it?" He finished rhetorically. Williams let out a nervous laugh, as she realized that that probably had more to do with it than anything else. "Like I've said before chief, the aliens aren't all that different to us… they are all jerks and saints like most of humanity. It just takes a smart enough cookie to realize that." Kaidan patted the chief upon the shoulder and gently pushed her away towards the med bay. "Now go, you owe Dr. T'soni that much."**_

"_**Yeah… your right. I'll be back in a jiffy!" Ashley slunk into the med bay, leaving a very cheerful Kaidan in her wake. Shepard herself could not help but smile after hearing what a turn around her chief's attitude towards the alien species had taken.**_

_**Shepard made her way down the remaining steps and proceeded towards where the older marine was crouched, as he fiddled with the televisions dials and wires. "Where is Ashley going?" Kaidan immediately stood to attention when he heard Sam's voice. He could not help it, just being around this woman made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.**_

"_**Hi commander!" He greeted with a salute. **_

_**Shepard put her hands up to stop the older gent in his tracks, but once he had started he couldn't finish, so he snapped it off and looked at Sam curiously. "Ashley…?"**_

"_**Kaidan?" Shepard asked in an almost teacher to pupil kind of tone, which caused the lieutenants heart to beat a little faster.**_

_**Kaidan looked up to meet his own dark brown eyes, with those olive green ones of Shepard's. Just looking into them sent enjoyable shivers up his spine. Her beautiful eyes had a way of drawing people in, but keeping them on their toes at the same time. Shepard was unpredictable, Kaidan would give her that. Clearing his throat, he pulled himself to stand at his full height, which brought him to a level height with the spectre. "She went to… apologise… to Dr. T'soni, ma'am." Kaidan watched as that awe inspiring smile spread across Sam's face. 'Stop shivering damn it!' Kaidans brain shouted down to his spine.**_

"_**Why what did she do now?" The smile faded slightly, as the implications became clear.**_

_**The older male chortled softly at Shepard's reaction to his words. Once he was composed he realized what he may he unconsciously said and he was quick to rectify it. "No! No… commander. Ashley didn't do anything new, she just wanted to apologise for the way she acted during the debrief… I hope that's okay commander." A worried note slipped into Kaidans voice, which amused Shepard somewhat. Sam was oblivious to Kaidans affections, but she thought that she could see some signs that the biotic marine liked the chief.**_

"_**It's fine… actually it is better than fine. It is good to hear that she is becoming more tolerant of the other species aboard the Normandy." Shepard stated, with a twinge of pride lacing her words. Just as the two biotics finished their discussions the door to the med bay swished open, revealing a very chirpy looking Ashley in its wake. "What are you smirking about?" Sam turned herself to face the approaching marine, who was practically floating towards them.**_

"_**Nothing!" Ash put up her hands in a mock defensive gesture. "I just never realized what a nice person Liara was is all. Honestly… you people." Shepard and Kaidan laughed momentarily, whilst they watched a rather smug looking Ashley try to look well… less smug.**_

_**Shepard brushed past the female marine as she stepped towards the med bay, pausing only briefly before she entered. "Is she still okay to see people or…" Shepard motioned her hand in some kind of twisted gesture, which Ashley could only think that that was Sam's version of 'or not' once more Kaidan chuckled, but this time it was about Shepard and how goofy she was acting.**_

_**Ashley gave Shepard a knowing smile –much to the spectre's confusion- before motioning her own hand, indicating Sam to carry on. "She should be fine to see YOU." Ash stated. She found herself putting a little bit of emphasis upon the "you." Shepard had no idea what this woman was getting at, but it didn't sound good for her either way. As Sam slipped silently into the med bay, Williams turned to Kaidan, with a cocked eyebrow in tow.**_

_**Kaidan also found himself becoming more and more confused by the younger woman. What was she acting so odd about? Kaidan opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly shot down when Ashley jumped in before him. "There is something going on with the skipper and little miss prothean expert." Ashley said excitedly, practically bouncing on her tippy-toes. Kaidan however was not feeling in as much of a flamboyant mood as the female marine was. His heart felt like it had just been wrapped in sheets of ice, as well as feeling a horrible hollow feeling within his stomach. Samantha was the perfect woman for him, she had always been. Now this ASARI just comes in and takes her away from him. **_

'_**What the hell!' Kaidan shouted internally. How could she? Why would she? Since when was Shepard into other women? There were so many questions rattling around the biotic marines mind, it was too hard to just pick one and stick with it. He had to know why Shepard had flirted –or so he thought she had been- with him, and in turn she had just ran off with her little asari fan-girl! Why? Unconsciously Kaidans fists clenched, hard, and tiny, dull blue wisps had begun circling his balled hand.**_

* * *

_**Shepard walked into the med bay, giving a wave to Chakwas as the thundered by. Once Shepard reached the door, she realized that she actually had nothing to say to Liara. Never the less, Shepard opened the door and quietly paced in. She was shocked by what she saw. Liara was hunched over her terminal, face cupped in both hands. The asari's body would occasionally spasm from the hard sobs that racked her fragile body.**_

_**Without a second thought Sam quickly paced through the room –closing the door behind her- she stepped over to the broken form of Liara. "Hey?" Liara turned her head around slowly, Pale blue and sore purple bloodshot eyes meeting with the clear brilliant green ones of Samantha's. "Come here…" Shepard pulled the young asari to her feet, whilst keeping her close to her own body. Sam felt the wetness of sorrowful tears grace her shirt of her shoulder. Gently Sam guided the archaeologist over to the little camping bed in the corner of the room; they both took a seat upon the edge of the bed.**_

"_**Liara, I know it has been a hard day for you. Just let it out…" Sam soothed as she softly rubbed the asari's back with the pad of her thumb. Once more sobs racked Liara body, causing the poor woman to shudder slightly, under the power of her own emotions.**_

_**Liara sniffled quietly, as her breath hitched and jolted within her lungs. The asari's normally cool gaze once again met Shepard's own. Liara looked intently into the humans eyes –as if she were searching for answers- but she knew deep down she wouldn't find them just by staring at the brilliant minded woman. "Benezia…" the scientists stuttered. "She is not well." It was not a question, but more of a statement. Liara knew that it was more likely that Benezia would die at some point, but they… NO. Shepard saved her anyway, probably to spare Liara's own feelings. And she was spot on. Sam hated to see this delicate, warm, lovable soul hurt, and she would do anything to avoid that. Unfortunately, this time it was unavoidable, Benezia would have always been indoctrinated when they arrived and as long as Liara was on that particular ground team, she would have always of seen her own mother in such a deluded and deranged state of mind.**_

_**Sam continued her soothing movements upon the beautiful asari's back as she held on to her tightly, as if she was trying to protect her from any outside problems. "Benezia is safe… and she is in good hands. She will get better I promise you, even if I have to have a go at curing her myself." Shepard teased. Her sense of humour always got Liara's attention, and this time was no exception. Liara chuckled softly into Shepard's shoulder. After laughing together for a few minutes Liara had managed to compose herself enough to ask Sam a question… a very important one to her. **_

"_**Shepard?" Liara voice was muffled by her face being comfortably pressed into the crook of Sam's neck. **_

_**Pausing her thumb patterning upon the archaeologists back for a few seconds. "Yes, Liara?"**_

_**There was no easy way to ask at this stage, so Liara thought it would be best asked. "Why did you save my mother?" The beautiful scientist pulled back from Shepard's embrace a little so that she could now look Sam in the eyes.**_

_**Without question or time to think, Shepard replied. She knew why she did it and she'd do it again and again and again if she had to, Shepard would do anything to see Liara happy and this was another one of those things. "To make you happy." Liara examined Shepard's green eyes for precious minutes, looking for any trace of lies or deceit, but no. The scientist had suspected as much. Liara smiled against Sam's strong shoulder before hitting upon something that she had been wanting to say since… forever.**_

"_**You always make me happy, even when you are not with me you make me happy. I do not think I could live without you. And saving my mother was a great risk, but you did it anyway… to make me happy?" Liara was astounded. No one had ever given her such attention before and to think that this woman before her –The first human spectre- had risked her own health, her very well-being, just to please her… It was a thrilling sensation as well as a terrifying one.**_

"_**That is what I was put in the galaxy to do, and I plan on doing it well." Samantha looked down to the floor in embarrassment she also flashed her gorgeous –Well, Liara though so anyway- crooked smile. Gently, Liara cupped Sam's chin and delicately pulled her head up so that they were once more eye to eye. The scientist enjoyed seeing the usually composed commander more than a little bit flustered, she found it endearing; and more than a little cute.**_

"_**You were placed within the galaxy to do so much more than to make me happy, although we did share a kind of… bond before we had even spoken of our attractions for one another, I must admit." Sam nodded in agreement with the asari's statement entirely. Ever since they had both met there had always been this background force pulling them towards one another. It was hard to explain, but it was most certainly there.**_

_**Shepard clasped her larger hand over the Liara's own one -that currently resided underneath her chin- as well as taking a soft hold on Liara's other hand, holding both of them out in front of her. "Liara, you are very special to me and you always will be. No matter what you argue otherwise, my main mission is to make you happy… because when I make you smile… it makes me smile." Shepard whispered. Once again Sam looked down to the floor; she was trying to cover her embarrassment that came with saying such a stupid thing. Seeing Shepard so vulnerable, however, just made Liara fall more deeply in love with her.**_

_**Liara smiled warmly, with Sam's revelation she had never felt happier in her entire life –which is what Shepard did say she was aiming for, and Shepard never fails. "Thank you Shepard… truly, thankyou…"**_

* * *

Kaidan grasped his head and began rubbing his temples, his vision started to fizz around the edges. _**'Oh crap, why now?'**_ He mentally whined. The biotic had known that he had a migraine building all day, but knowing it and feeling it were two completely different things. On Chakwas' previous orders in mind, he travelled over to the med bay, but before he opened the door he paused. From inside the med bay he could her pained noises –and not the usual type of pain either- this sounded like someone crying. Without hesitation Kaidan opened the door and cast a quick glance around the room. At first he didn't see a soul, which confused the biotic. _**'Where are these noises coming from?'**_ He thought. Suddenly he heard a rustling sound come from behind him, followed by a little sniffle and a rather shaky breath.

Kaidan turned around to spot the beautiful scientist slumped against the wall, face buried in her knees, her body shaking with ragged breaths. Quickly, Kaidan slid over to her. "Dr. T'soni? What is wrong?" The marine was never a fan of this woman –well he was until she stole Shepard from him- but he could see that she was in great distress and he would help anyone if they needed it.

"Oh… lieutenant Alenko… sor-ry, no I am fine…" Liara replied in between hitched breaths. Kaidan did not believe that for a second, and he was not prepared to leave this poor woman on her own until she let slip what was eating at her.

Kaidan shook his head negatively. "I'm not buying that for a second ma'am. Tell me what is wrong… I might be able to help." Liara looked up to the male biotic, her eyes were bloodshot, but Kaidan was taken a back slightly by their colour -it was a beautiful purplish blue- Until he remembered about the asari and the colour of their blood.

Liara also shook her head in a negative response so Alenkos offer. "I seriously doubt that lieutenant, and I really should not say it is… personal…" Liara trailed off. She once more buried her head into her waiting knees, in a vain attempt to stem the tears that threatened to come out.

Kaidan instantly knew what this was about, or rather WHO this was about. "It is Shepard isn't it?" The marine asked weakly. Liara nodded once, just as weakly as Kaidans question was asked. He knew if it was personal to Liara than it had to be Shepard. No offense to the beautiful woman, but… what else could it have been? Liara could not exactly argue with that, if she had heard his mental ramblings. It was Shepard, it was always Shepard. It hurt Liara's very soul to think of a life without this goddess, but Liara did not –and would not- share her… with anyone! And if that was how Sam thought it was going to be, then what kind of life could they live.

Both biotics were torn away from their thoughts, when the door quietly swished open revealing a very bored looking Ashley in its wake. "Liara?" Ashley said tersely. Williams followed in Kaidans footsteps and slid up to the unoccupied side of the distressed maiden. "What happened?" This time however her query was aimed at the biotic male, who sat on Liara's right hand side.

Kaidan shrugged politely. He knew it was of a personal nature, but how personal… he was not quite sure. "Liara, what is wrong? Are you okay?" Ash asked in a very sweet and motherly tone. Kaidan was slightly taken back by Ash's attitude, but again his brain chipped in and he reminded himself that she had three sisters, so she would most likely be used to having to calm them down.

Kaidan managed to scoot around slightly so that he could whisper into Ashley's ear. "It is Shepard…" Ashley's expression dropped to an even more worried look. She lent in towards Kaidan to whisper back.

"Why? What is wrong with Shepard?" Neither Ashley nor Kaidan knew what was going on, and both would probably have the shock of their lives once they did find out... if they did find out. Again Kaidan simple shrugged and shook his head. The male marine took back to where he was originally sat –on Liara's right hand side- and Ashley settled comfortably back on Liara's left side. The female marine put her arm over the asari's, still shuddering shoulders. "Hey, come on now Liara… tell me what is wrong." Ashley's voice reverted back to the motherly, warm tones that had covered it before, as she tried to soothe the distressed asari fully.

With a few hitched breaths and body shudders, Liara looked up again –her eyes still purple and sore- taking in a deep shaky breath the maiden decided it was time to divulge. "I am not sure I should be telling the both of you about it…"

Ashley shook her head amusedly, looking back up her own coal coloured eyes met with Kaidans own dark chocolate ones. "Liara, whatever you say will not leave this room. I promise- we promise." Ashley pointed at herself and then at Alenko, just to accentuate her point further. The biotic marine nodded to confirm Williams' statement.

Liara swallowed… hard, as she thought about what Shepard had just admitted to her not ten minutes ago, and how Ashley and Alenko would respond. Liara did not want to soil Shepard's reputation, but these two respected the spectre the most. Perhaps they will understand her better. "Saman- Shepard… told me that she had… that she had…" Liara could not bring herself to say it, it was horrible. _**'How could she do this to me… to us?'**_ The asari thought. She and Shepard had 'a real thing going' as Ashley had once said. So why? Why did she have to ruin it? Again the maiden's jealous rage surged through her veins.

"Hey, hey…" Ashley soothed the asari back down; she felt Liara's once tense body relax slightly as she gently rubbed her thumb across Liara's back. "Talk to us." Liara once again nodded weakly. She knew it would probably come out eventually; it was just a matter of time. It may as well have been her mouth that it came from.

"Shepard, she… cheated, on me." Liara felt her heart drop. Just saying it aloud made it all the more real, and that one prospect she did not like. At all. Both Williams' and Alenkos jaws dropped like anvils to a concrete floor. Neither expected that, in fact it was more likely than not the one thing that was furthest from their minds. They had both thought that perhaps Sam had hurt herself or hurt someone else, Kaidan figured it kind of classed as the latter now.

Ashley quickly stood to her feet rage pouring out of her being. "WHAT! How the hell- NO! Why the hell would she do that? I'm sooo going to have words!" After hearing that, Liara quickly got to her own feet. Taking old of the young human before her.

"No. You will not 'have words' with her, if you do anything crass you will get yourself thrown out of the alliance, never mind the Normandy. Please Chief." She pleaded. Liara felt another presence join to stand next to her.

"She's right chief; we don't need to lose another good soldier, we need all of the help we can get against the reapers… that includes you." Kaidan added, putting his own hand upon Ashley's shoulder, as if he was trying to hold the human woman back from causing more harm to her apparently 'soiled' family name. Williams nodded in agreement with her two closest friends words.

Ash gently stepped away from the hands that were keeping her back, and she took the position of leaning against one of the med bays beds. "So… did she explain herself?" She asked tersely. Ash did not care about anything right now, all she wanted to know was why? Liara nodded positively to the chief's query.

The asari looked away from both of the human marines. She felt foolish for letting herself breakdown like that, right in front of them. Liara would have classed Ashley as a friend, but the scientist was sure that if Sam had offered herself to Kaidan, he would have probably taken the offer. But then again Liara felt that she had not really gotten to know this young male marine, and should most certainly wait until she had discovered more about him before passing judgement. "Yes. She did explain herself. And I think that she was speaking honestly and truthfully." Liara stated proudly. She had no idea why she should be proud, after all the woman did cheat on her. Ashley simply snorted in disgust at Liara's sentiment.

"How can you just believe what she says so easily? She slept with someone else for crying out loud!" Ashley bitterly shouted the last part of her statement, subconsciously hoping that the skipper would hear her, but she would have no avail seeing as Shepard's cabin was soundproof.

"Chief… you may not have heard what Dr. Chakwas said before we left in search of Shepard, if you did not then you most definitely would not understand." Liara was un-willing to press the matter. Sam would have probably wanted her to keep her heath issues under wraps, if not for her own sake, then for the sake of her crew. Ashley studied the asari with a confused expression, what could she have missed out on?

Ashley shook herself out of her thoughts momentarily, focusing her all back upon Liara. "What did Chakwas say?" The chief recognised the look that played upon Liara's face, the same 'secretive' look that she had when Ash had watched the beautiful asari talking with the skipper, just after they had gotten back from Noveria. Liara shook her head with irritation, how could Williams not have heard what Chakwas had said? It was not as if there was much else going on in the mess hall at that point.

"I should not discuss it with you two. It is not my place to say, and I shall not divulge any information unless Shepard tells me otherwise." Liara said, in a simply matter-of-factly tone of voice. One that made the chief realise that she wouldn't budge Liara on talking, even if she tried.

"Fair enough. I think that we should all get some rest, talk again once we are fully rested." Kaidan chipped in. The older biotic male was right of course. Everyone was already agitated, especially when Shepard had run off yesterday, leaving a small group to search for her.

Both Williams and Liara nodded before going their separate ways. The asari felt a little better for getting that dead weight off of her chest, but Ashley however was still seething. Her mentor –the very person, who she looked up to turned out to be nothing more than a jerk. The chief thought that Sam was better than that, a truly kind hearted person. However, like most things in her life her illusions had begun to fall apart. Although Williams could not really comment further until she knew what this 'health issue' was. And she planned on finding out.

Once Ash was sure that Liara was comfortably in her camping bed and Kaidan secure in his sleeping pod, the chief took a detour, which "inadvertently" took her right to Shepard's cabin. Reaching up for the door chime, Ash felt a rush of worry hit her like a freight train. _**'What if the skipper is seriously ill? Cancer? No not Shepard, surely she would have said something otherwise. Wouldn't she?' **_Ashley's thoughts had begun assaulting her, harshly. Not stopping to think twice Ashley dabbed the pad with her hand. The door swished open in its normal fast-paced way, revealing to Ashley no sign of the skipper.

Just as Liara stormed out of her cabin, Shepard felt wave after wave of sickening emotions barraging her mind. More often than any other the question –why?- was asked. The fact was Sam didn't know why. She was upset and down, then Jack –the handsome ex-marine- came waltzing over to her, scraping her shattered life off of the floor and making her feel whole. But the thought of it right now made her feel nauseous.

Shepard knew deep down though that there was not a single thing she could do with Liara right now, all she could do was leave the asari to make her own decisions in her own time. Sam searched around the room to try and find something to occupy herself with, but came up empty handed. Without much thought Sam exited her cabin and travelled down the elevator and into the cargo hold, maybe she'd visit Garrus or Wrex or perhaps even her favourite techy, Tali.

The spectre would often go to see Tali and discuss the latest about the Normandy, a few minor upgrades here and there, so on and so forth. And although Sam would never say it to many, she was a bit of a tech geek herself –having studied it at college- and Tali would be the first to admit that Shepard was incredibly well versed in the ins and outs of electronics and technology. Second to none, Tali had once heard engineer Adams say. After spending some time with the commander, simply talking or helping her to fix something, Tali started to develop odd feelings for the human. The young quarian had never experienced such a vast array of different emotions at once before, and it only seemed to occur in the spectre's presence. It would have taken the quarian quite some time to decipher her true feelings, only whilst the ship was in lockdown –per the council… and Udina's orders- she happened to walk into the mess hall, in doing so she spotted the asari help Shepard off of the floor and into her awaiting arms. Tali watched secretly, as the pair nearly kissed. Nearly being the key word in that statement, before she knew it, Jokers voice blasted over the comm, separating the pair immediately. Tali did not know why, but in those few moments her feelings had ranged from anger, blind rage, hurt and finally relief –this was when Joker cut in- The quarian always seemed to forget how to act normally whilst Shepard was around, which would cause problem out in the field if Tali was not careful.

Speaking of the devil –or thinking rather- Shepard strolled into the engine room, but there was something off about her. Again Tali felt an odd emotion. It felt like grief, was Tali feeling sad for Shepard? Tali didn't have time to mull that one over because before she knew it the beautiful spectre was standing right before her.

"Oh… uh, hello Shepard! Is there something I can help you with?" Tali mentally chided herself for sounding like an awe struck teenager. But Shepard was too caught up in her own personal dramas, to even notice the quarian stumble over her verbal greeting to her.

Shepard shook her head slowly, before answering the young woman. "No. I just wanted something to do. Found any new projects lately?" Again the commander just wanted to take her mind off of Liara's hurt expression and her sorrowful voice, but that particular task was becoming harder and harder with each passing minute that Shepard spent away from her.

"I'm afraid I haven't found anything official… although there is this…" Tali muttered as she bent down to pick up a small black cuboid shaped object. The object was so small that it was able to fit into the palm of the quarians hand. It was solid black in colour, but it was shiny like polished plastic.

Taking the small cube into her own hands and examining it, Shepard was unable to come to any kind of conclusion to what the object was. "Do you know what this is?" Sam's eyes did not flicker away from the object once, not even as she spoke. Tali simply shook her head in response to the spectre's query. "Where did you get it?" Again Tali shook her head. It sounded odd to Shepard that she didn't know where to object was from, but she kept that to herself never-the-less.

"After we battled Sovereign, I came back down here, just to check if all of our systems were okay and so on…" Tali trailed off a bit, as she saw –what she thought to be- an impatient look upon Sam's face. Not wishing to annoy Shepard Tali decided to cut her story short. "I found it on my work station… right here." Tali pointed to the console to her left.

Shepard shook her own head this time. She could not believe that Tali had kept this from her for so long; it had been weeks since the battle had taken place, and the quarian was only just bringing this to her attention now? "Why did you not show me this before now?" Shepard's tone was a little hash, which hurt Tali like a stab wound, but the young quarian hid it as well as she could.

"You were injured! I went to show it to you, but that damned asari told me not to!" Shepard was startled by the engineers tone, and the fact that she had just cursed at Liara.

"What?" Sam asked tersely between gritted teeth. Shepard had a scary sound mixed in with her usually pleasant voice. Now however it was gravelly and deep, like she was building up to shout at her. Tali noticed the spectre jaw muscles flex with each seething, rage filled breath that she drew in.

Tali put her three fingered hands up defensively, hoping deep down that she could somehow build a dam to try and block the rage and hate that would soon hit her if she wasn't careful. "I am sorry Shepard. I did not mean to say such a horrible thing, it's just…"

"Just what Tali?" the commander interrupted. Her voice was steadily rising in pitch, which worried the quarian to no end.

'_**That is it!' **_Tali mentally concluded _**'I cannot… NO, will not hide this anymore!' **_Taken one last look back at Shepard, Tali prepared herself –as much as she could anyway- to say what she was about to say. "Shepard I…!" The words died on her tongue. She could not say them, no matter how hard she tried. Shepard meant to much to her, to spoil their "friendship" with unrequited love.

"Tali?" Sam's voice was much softer this time; the spectre knew that there was something up with the young girl, but the question was: "what?" She both said and thought.

"Oh… it's nothing… I did not bring this to you before because… well I tried to, but Liara said you had more to think about right now than worthless trinkets…" Tali sighed at the memory. To be completely honest it was bad timing on her part.

Shepard looked taken aback by what Tali had just said. "That doesn't sound like Liara?"

"Well it was bad timing on my part, and to be fair you were on severely injured at that particular moment. In fact you were most likely fresh out of surgery."

"That does not excuse it; she should have let you show me." Shepard seethed. Liara was not known for being careless, but this was beyond that. This… device could mean anything… could be anything, and she just pushed the poor quarian out of the way.

Tali unexpectedly reached out and wrapped her digits softly, yet firmly around Sam's bicep as if she was holding her in place. "Shepard… she loves you. I am certain that she just wanted you to get the rest that you so dearly needed, correction: need." Tali's voice was honest, and warm, proving that she meant what she had said. Thoughts of the asari filtered into Sam's mind, before passing rather quickly. Shepard focused her piercing green gaze upon the hand that had rested comfortably around her arm. Tali blushed brightly inside her mask, as she realized that she was still touching Sam's arm. Quickly she removed it, and even more quickly she missed the feel of Shepard's body heat against her gloved hand.

"Did love me..." Shepard whispered, more so to herself than to Tali. Sam looked up at Tali, who -although the spectre could not see it- had a worried air about her. "Look… I'm sorry I almost shouted at you, but I really must go and have words with the Dr, involving… this." Shepard studied the black, shiny cube. She twirled it between her index finger, middle finger and thumb. Just as Sam went to walk away she felt the hand grab her in the same place it had before.

"Shepard… talk to me." The commanders previous statement _**"She did love me…" **_began to reverberate around Tali's mind. _**'What did she mean by that?'**_ She thought. The quarian tried not to get her hopes up, but if there was a chance that she could have Shepard for herself then she would almost certainly take it.

"Oh nothing. Me and Liara have just had a… disagreement, is all. We are on a bit of a break at the minute." Shepard said in a soft, yet down-trodden voice. Tali could not help herself, her heart was practically pounding out of her chest.

"A break?"Tali thought aloud. Sam nodded weekly, whilst still spinning the cube around in her hands.

"I thought that we were you know… close, but then I go and screw it up… like always." The quarian could not stand to see the woman of her affections like this, slowly Tali pulled Sam in for a hug. Shepard was too weak to argue, so she simply obliged. She let Tali wrap her lithe arms around her stronger form. They stood like that for a few minutes before separating. Sam never sobbed or wept once, ever since Elysium her ability to be frivolous with her emotions had vanished, not once since that day had Shepard cried.

"What happened between you two?" Tali asked the obviously exhausted spectre. Sam's feet were starting to feel sore, so she walked over to the wall by the side of Tali's workstation and slid herself down the wall until she hit the floor. The quarian soon followed suit, sitting closely to Shepard. The commander explained about what Chakwas had told her –heath wise- and of how she had reacted -badly was one word to describe it- She then went on to explain how she had bumped into an ex-colleague at the bar and how she'd ended up sleeping with him –she didn't dwell on that, only sharing the basics- Sam told of how she snuck back into the Normandy, and of how she had broken the news to Liara. After sharing her story, Sam felt more exhausted than ever before, and her guilt had spiked to new highs.

"I'm sorry to hear about all of that…" Tali secretly seethed inside about how Shepard had slept with some… guy, but most of all how Liara had just left her. Sam had thought that just. Tali however, believed in working though things together, as a couple. Or was it just Shepard she would have done that for? Other parts of Tali's mind worried for Samantha's health. It was okay for a quarian, because the suit stopped you from touching this, smelling that, eating or drinking whatever, but Sam was open to all of that. All it took was one accident and that could be Shepard's life gone. Tali didn't know how Sam would cope with the life of constant worry and fear of death by allergic reaction, but deep down she knew that if anyone could do it, it would be Samantha Shepard.

"You and me both." Shepard agreed amusedly. "Liara said that I had broken her trust. I guess I just have to earn that trust back, but… that will take a long time and I feel like I need her right now. Then again I should feel like that. After all, this is my own fault… not hers… mine." Tali wanted Sam to be happy, of course she did, but not with Liara. With her. Her mind countered saying that she could never force Shepard to love her, that Liara was her true soul-mate. Tali knew this, she just didn't want to believe it. Tali sighed and rested her head upon Sam's shoulder. The quarian watched intently as Sam spun the cube around on the tip of her index finger.

"Why can't life ever be simple?" Tali asked the obvious question.

Shepard shook her head negatively. "Because, the 'verse is always looking for new ways to kick us in the quad." Both women chortled at that. The entire ground team had heard Wrex say it so often that it had become an inside joke amongst them, hell, even Wrex knew.

The pair sat in silence for a few more minutes. Only the sound of Garrus' curses and the engine pulsating every minute or so. Shepard wasn't sure if Tali was even awake, gently Shepard rested her head upon the young engineers –who's head was still resting upon Shepard's shoulder- After a few more moments of delicious peace and quiet the door swished open, only to reveal a rather pissed looking Ashley.

"You just can't stop can you!" She shouted from the doorway.

Tali started slightly when she heard the new voice. But she relaxed slightly once she heard the more familiar one. "What are you talking about chief?" Shepard asked, her voice a little husky from nearly falling asleep herself.

"You. First some guy. Now Tali! Where do you get off?" Tali moved her head quickly when she felt the spectre shoot to her feet.

Shepard was a tall woman, not overly tall, but taller than most. She stood at her full height, looking down at Ashley through furious eyes. "What did you just say to me. Chief?" Sam put emphasis into the last word of her sentence. Shepard hoped that by reminding the smaller woman of her position aboard the Normandy, it might shut her up, before she did something really stupid.

"You son of a bitch! Liara is up there crying her eyes out, whilst your down here getting "comforted" by… her!" Ashley pointed her finger viciously at Tali, which for some reason unknown provoked something deep within the spectre, something she would have never anticipated. Sam's fist balled up, fizzling with the familiar biotic blue and the tingling sensation within her veins that often followed a biotic attack. Before anyone knew it Sam's biotic fist slammed into the side of Ashley's jaw, knocking the unsuspecting marine to the floor, with a loud groan of pain.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!" Shepard all but screamed as she stalked over to Ashley's still floored form. With ease, Sam straddled the younger woman and clutched her neck with her biotic vice-like grip. Ash watched in horror as her skipper raised a fist to biotically punch her again. Ashley knew that if she did it again she would most certainly snap her jaw, but that didn't stop Shepard. With another stern blow, Ash once more screamed in pain, but the pain wasn't coming from her face. Shepard had punched her in the kidney somehow. "WHAT THE FOCK DID YOU JUST SAY!" Ashley groaned quietly in pain. Her vision was going fuzzy, the last thing she saw was Wrex and Garrus forcefully grab the skipper by the shoulders and pinning her against the floor. Shepard put up one hell of a fight. At one point she had nearly thrown Garrus off of her, but even if the turian did step away from her, she'd still have Wrex to contend with.

Pain dissipated from the young marine, when she felt a sharp prick jab into her neck. _**'Chakwas' **_Ash thought weakly, seeing the doctor was a strange kind of relief. Chakwas stepped over to Shepard -who was still attempting to wrestle Garrus and Wrex to get their hold off of her- the doctor pulled out another needle, only this time it contained a heavy sedative. Chakwas signalled Tali to take hold of Sam's arm, whilst she injected the sedative. Much to Ashley's dismay the quarian did so without hesitation. Slowly the needle slid into the commander's vein, filling her with enough of the sleeping agent to take down an elcor. Ashley watched as the skippers protesting movements came to a gentle stop. Leaving the now tranquil form of the spectre, still and calm.

"Stay with the chief whist we get the commander up to the infirmary." The authoritative upper class British tone rang out. "And preferably strap down to a solid object." She added sarcastically.

Garrus, Wrex and Chakwas left the room with Shepard in tow. Leaving Ashley with Tali. "Thank you." Ashley groaned. She had not expected the quarian to help her, especially after her bitchy outburst, but Tali had. And in turn she had probably saved Ashley life. The young human attempted to sit up, but white-hot pain lanced up her left side.

"I don't think that you should move chief. She hit you pretty bad." Tali stated, which teased a weak snort from Ashley.

"Yeah… figures. Thanks for helping me Tali, and sorry about what I said… I was just angry." Ash's voice was growing more and more weary. Tali just prayed that Chakwas would get here soon, before Ashley passed out. Right on cue, Chakwas, Garrus and Wrex filtered back into the room. The human doctor took a good look at the injuries that coated the chief's body. As if coming to some kind of conclusion, Chakwas pulled out yet another syringe.

"Chief? I am going to inject you with a sedative, then once you are out we will take you up stairs. Okay?" The good doctor asked, gaining a weak nod from Ashley in turn.

After a few minutes of waiting, Ashley had drifted off to sleep. Tali could not help but notice that all three of the people who had taken Shepard upstairs, were now down here to. "Uh… Doctor?"

"Yes Miss. Zorah. Is there something I can help you with?" The doctor offered politely.

"Who is watching Shepard if we are all here? Liara?"

Chakwas looked nervous, which also made Tali nervous. If it wasn't Liara than who? Kaidan? Pressly? Who? "Well do you remember that time when Rear Admiral Mikhailovich, tried to question Shepard over the state of the Normandy and its crew?" Chakwas queried. Tali didn't understand. Why the change of subject?

"Uhm… yes… I think I do. Why?"

Chakwas frowned, which further confused Tali. "Well… he is looking after Shepard. So to speak…"

A/N: Thanks to those of you, who have read my story so far. I promise more updates soon. Sorry about any grammar mistake or such like. (I write fairly quickly you see.) Anyway, please read and review, your words: good or bad, really help to spur me on. So please do, thanks guys!


	9. Reconciliation and Dreams

**Mass Effect: An Epic Tale Chapter 9. **

Peewit22

A/N: In every part of this story –even the flashback's- Shepard's armour is a mixture of various pieces that are collected throughout the game. I will describe them so you can better understand her look:

-Helmet: None, but when Shepard does wear one it will be the normal N7 breather mask with the same red and white stripe on the top.

-Chest: Kestrel Torso sheath –The chest plate remains the same as usual, but over the abdomen it is the same design as the Aegis vest.

-Shoulders: Amplifier plates.

-Arms: Stabilization Gauntlets.

-Legs: Stimulator Conduits.

Shepard's armour is completely matte jet black from head to toe. The only difference in colour is the white and red emblazoned logo on the right hand side of the chest plate and the red and white stripe running from her right hand shoulder plate down to the back of her hand. Also she is part biotic part infiltrator. Oh! And also, this chapter contains a bit of gore, a lot of violence so, err… don't like. Don't read… though it is crucial to the story, but whatever. Now that's out of the way, I would love to thank those of you who have read my fanfic so far, more specifically Cmdr Shepard –you're a star-, greigar, AnkFoo and toxiclove17. Thank you toxiclove17 for adding me as one of your favourite authors and to your author alert, you rule dude! Thanks to everyone else to, for speaking your minds and for simply, reading. Now that's done, on with the show!

Disclaimer: I would just like to say as much as I wish I did, I do not own Bioware or any of its characters. Enjoy people

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The crew watched in shock, as commander Shepard was carried into the infirmary. Her limp form was currently surrounded by an entourage of non-human and other various human crew members. As they reached the med bay doors, Chakwas told any unnecessary crew members to wait outside whist she and her medical team strapped her down to an examination table. One of the unnecessary crew members, happened to be Garrus. He waited outside patiently –or so he had thought- The turian repeatedly checked the time on his visor, noting that no more than three minutes had passed since they had secured Shepard.

A young engineer approached Garrus' agitated form, hesitating slightly as he looked back to his co-workers, who ushered him on with subtle –or so _they_ thought- hand gestures. "Excuse me..? Mr. Vakarian?" The blonde haired man asked, not even trying to cover up the slight quiver within his voice.

Vakarian kept his steely gaze fixed solidly upon the med bay door. "What is it?" His duo-toned voice was unusually flat, devoid of emotion, completely unfeeling. Hearing this only worried the young engineer more. The human took of his baseball cap, and began stretching the elastic nervously, with his clammy hands.

"Sorry, the names Jessops… engineer Ricky Jessops. It's a real pleasure to meet you, Mr." The young gent raised a hand, offering to shake it with Garrus. The ex c-sec officer did not know what to make of the young man -or Garrus thought more rightly put: boy. There was something about Jessops however; he was not like the others. Most of the others aboard the Normandy were judgemental and on rare occasions, verbally xenophobic. Vakarian eyed the boy for a few moments, before offering his larger talon in return. Shaking hands with Ricky was odd, Garrus felt the sweat slipping upon his own gloved talon, but the turian could relate. He reminded himself of the time when he had first met Shepard and of how nervous he was. Turians did not sweat like humans did, but Garrus had dealt with enough human drunkards to know most of their bodily functions… unfortunately.

"It is a pleasure to meet you to Mr. Jessops." Ricky smiled widely at the sound of that. The young man did not usually get much in the way of respect from many that he spoke to; the only people that ever treated him like a real human being so far were Commander Shepard, Joker, Tali, Dr. Chakwas and engineer Adams. He did not know about the other aliens: Dr T'soni and Wrex, unfortunately he had been too busy down in the engine room to speak with either of them, but he relished the prospect of doing so. Jessops loved to meet new people, as well as the opportunity to see how other cultures did things.

"Please Mr. Vakarian… call me Ricky." Jessops watched in awe, as Garrus' mandibles flared slightly with amusement. The turian didn't know what was going on, but it felt good. Was he making a friend? Again Garrus did not know, and for that matter he did not care. The turian was just glad that he was able to speak to someone that showed him as much respect as he showed them.

Garrus nodded curtly in response to Jessops kind offer. "Thank you… Ricky." He rolled the name around his sharp tongue. Once more, the young boy smiled widely, bouncing a little on his heels a little as he did so. "And please, call me Garrus. I insist." It was the humans turn to nod curtly now. He did so without hesitation, bowing forward slightly.

"Thank you Mr. Vaka… Garrus. I appreciate your kindness." Ricky stood, slightly hunched as he continued to fiddle with the elastic band within his baseball cap.

"No problem Ricky. Is there something that you needed?" This time Vakarians tone was lighter, more cheerful as he addressed the now concerned looking young man.

Ricky cleared his throat softly before he began to speak. "I and some of the other crew men and women were just wondering if Commander Shepard was okay. She looked a little…" Jessops looked around like a wary cat about to cross a busy road. He checked thoroughly to make sure that there was no one within ear shot. Once the blonde man was sure it was okay to speak, he stood on his tip-toes and leant up to where he could only guess Garrus' ears were. "Pissed..." Once again, Ricky looked around. Luckily the coast was still clear. Jessops nodded to himself before looking back up to a rather confused, but highly amused Garrus.

"Why did you not just say that aloud Ricky?" Vakarian asked through a hidden, turian smirk. Ricky blushed a darker shade of red, which lead Garrus to chuckle softly under his breath.

"Well… when I was a kid I taught not to curse so…" The blonde man trailed off. Garrus gently rested his talon upon Ricky's shoulder, squeezing it softly to show his support.

"Ricky, you _are_ a fully grown man… or so I am led to believe. I am almost certain that it would not hurt you to use swear words every now and then." Vakarian chuckled a little over the last few words. He felt like he was a teacher to the young human male, and that feeling felt ridiculous, yet heart-warming all at the same time.

Ricky simple nodded in response to Garrus' words. Swearing was not in the young man's nature anyway, his parents had taught him not to do it and he planned not to… well, not much anyway. "Yeah… your right Garrus. But _is_ the commander okay? What happened?" As if on cue, a stretcher carrying a rather bloody Ashley rolled into the mess hall, heading rapidly for the infirmary.

"Oh god lord…" Jessops muttered, before passing out. Garrus looked over to Ash's battered form. He swiftly looked back at the now floored engineer. Carefully Vakarian picked up the young man –the surprisingly light young man- and followed Chakwas into the med bay.

As he entered the room, he looked in horror as he saw that foul bigot; Mikhailovich, lurching over Shepard's unconscious body.

"Mr. Vakarian? I thought I told you to wait in the mess hall!" Chakwas shouted over from Ashley's bed.

Garrus shifted uncomfortably under the limelight of Admiral Mikhailovich's scrutinizing glare. "I was, but when Mr. Jessops here saw chief Williams being carted in here like that." He pointed one of his fingers at the chief's battered face. "He passed out, doctor. I didn't know where to take him, so I brought him here. I hope that is okay, doctor?" Slowly, Vakarian lowered young Ricky to another bed.

"Yes that is fi-" The good doctor was mid-way through her sentence when the admiral, rather rudely butted in.

Pushing his way out of the ring of medics that surrounded Shepard's bed, Mikhailovich made a b-line for Garrus –much to Chakwas' chagrin- "Isn't this convenient!" The rear admiral half asked and half shouted at Vakarian. "First, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams gets beaten half to death and now this young man. This young _human_ man!" Garrus flinched slightly. He was at a loss for words –which was unusual for the turian- The admiral now turned back to Chakwas, who was working away upon Ashley's beaten face on the bed to the right of where Garrus had set Jessops down. "And you tell me doctor, that it is safe to have these…" The xenophobe paused as he circled Garrus with his index finger haphazardly "…These _aliens_ wandering around freely aboard our ship?" Mikhailovich snorted loud enough to wake an unconscious krogan.

Unluckily, Liara chose this moment to enter the med bay. "Oh and look here is another one! What does the commander think this is some kind of zoo?" The admiral's voice continued to rise in pitch with every word that fell out of his mouth.

"Hey! You wrinkled son-of-a-bitch!" The harsh shout from the centre of the large crowd of medics, was enough to stunned Mikhailovich, momentarily shutting him up. The group of medics parted as the older man walked furiously over to the bed.

Liara caught a full glimpse at the tense restrained body of the commander. "Doctor! What is going on?" Liara whispered worriedly. Chakwas looked from Shepard to Ashley, grimly. The asari scientist's breath hitched as she realized what the human doctor was implying. "No… Shepard did this?" Chakwas nodded meekly in response. The asari put her hands over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her shock. Once she had semi-recovered, the asari felt compelled to ask. "Why?" The older human female shrugged her shoulders hopelessly in response. She kept her eyes firmly focused upon Mikhailovich during hers and Liara's entire conversation.

The admiral gripped the guard-rail aggressively, but not nearly aggressive enough it would seem, to bother Shepard in any way shape or form. "What did you just say to me _commander_?" He added emphasis to her rank, in a deaf effort to remind the fierce woman of her place.

Shepard tugged ferociously at the restraints. Much to Mikhailovich's joy, she was unable to escape. The admiral laughed in the rage-filled commander's face, until he saw the odd cyan glow of biotic usage begin to wisp like a fine smoke, out of her eye sockets. Quickly he turned to Chakwas, who in return stared at him haplessly. Liara placed a hand upon the human female's bicep. As much as the asari rued the fact that the admiral had said such harsh things, Liara did not want him to suffer a similar fate to Ashley.

"Fine!" Chakwas pressed forward, grabbing another syringe filled with sedatives and releasing it into Sam's bloodstream, effectively knocking the woman out again. "Rear Admiral Mikhailovich, I would like to ask you not to provoke my patients!" The man nodded meekly, his skin flushing a pale colour. Never had he been so worried in his life, of course he knew that Ashley had her neck near-on broken off for saying much less than that. The older man realized that he had pushed the envelope to far, and that could have resulted in being gravely injured. "I think it would be better if you waited outside, Rear Admiral." Chakwas' voice was bland. In reality the doctor was scathing, but in order to keep her job and any possible future that she may have intact, she would have to keep her nose well and truly out.

Mikhailovich snapped his gaze back up to Chakwas, an angry glint flashing through his eyes. "With all due respect doctor, I wish to wait until Commander Shepard regains consciousness so that I can question her on her previous inactions… as well as this!" He pointed violently towards Ashley, who now had a neck brace on as well as gauze covering the vast majority of her battered and broken face. "There will be serious consequences to this, I assure you!" The rear admiral crossed his arms over his chest defiantly, as he stared across at Chakwas, and then over to Liara.

It was the human females turn to snort now, and she did so gladly, shaking her head disapprovingly as she did so. "Do you really think that is a good idea? You have seen what happens. Are you sure that you want a repeat performance?" Mikhailovich looked over to the commander, whose face was slightly contorted with anger.

"I do not care, Doctor. She needs to pay the price for assaulting a subordinate. If she decides to attack me as well then so be it, it will only further the charges placed against her!" The rear admiral snapped back.

Chakwas shook her head disapprovingly once again. "That is not the attitude you displayed five minutes ago, when the commander was prepared to biotically tear you limb from limb!"

Mikhailovich took a step closer to the doctor so that their faces were mere inches away from one another. "You would do well to remember your place, _doctor_!" The older man tried his hands at old tactics once more, as he emphasized Chakwas' rank, in a rabid attempt to get her to stand down.

Chakwas inched her face forward a little bit more, showing her defiance. "Your scare tactics did not work when you tried them upon Shepard, and they _will not_ work when you try them upon _me_. Are we understood _admiral_?" Chakwas did not know why, but she did the same as Mikhailovich and near-on spat out his rank. Perhaps it was retaliation or maybe it was just the sheer amount of anger that pulsed through her veins.

"No! We are not... _understood_, doc-" Mikhailovich's rant was cut short when the device that was in place to monitor Shepard's heart-rate, began to bleep wildly. Liara looked at the avid device, watching closely as the pin sized line on its screen darted up and down faster than her eyes could keep track of it.

Quickly, the asari jumped around to the side of Samantha's bed, studying the restrained commander's features. In doing so Liara noticed the small crease upon the bridge of the spectre's nose. Usually this meant that she was in pain. The archaeologist recalled seeing Samantha with said crease upon her nose when she was being treated for her injuries following Sovereigns attack on the Citadel. With no other options in mind, Liara quickly decided to take the most expedient route: connecting her mind with that of Shepard's. As gently as possible, the young asari reached down, brushing her fingertips over the spectre's temples.

"What is _she_ doing?" The Rear Admiral shouted at Chakwas. Without a second thought Chakwas answered. Honestly.

"_Helping!"_ The human doctor pushed past the old man also making her way over to Sam's bedside. Chakwas gave an approving nod towards Liara, and watched closely as the asari withdrew from her own body, deftly entering Shepard's mind.

* * *

**Elysium: July 15th 2176.**

_Shepard darted down a darkened alleyway, a few bullets rebounding off what was left of her biotic shields. Sam pinned herself tightly against the wall behind her, watched closely as the small army of Batarian slavers that had been hunting her down, ran past. Luckily they were none the wiser about her sudden hiding place. To be captured now would have been death… or worse, for her and most of the other remaining colonists. Before getting to where she was now, Shepard had bumped into a small pack of survivors. They had stupidly taken to the streets, unarmed and without biotic aid. Sam had gotten them to a safe house right at the centre of the colony. To most that would have seemed a ridiculous thing to have done, but to the excellent tactician; Samantha Shepard, this was the best plan. The slavers would have searched the outskirts first, knowing that the lost -and most definitely confused- colonists would run there first. The colonists would have more likely than not, assumed that trying to escape the city was the best idea. However, the colonies borders were scattered masses of varren and Batarian slavers, just waiting for the inevitable colonist's attempts to escape._

_Another bullet zipped past the alley's entrance, snagging Sam out of her thoughts with a start. She was all too ready to simply wait for whoever fired the weapon to come charging forward. That way, when his back was turned to Shepard, she could hop out of cover and kill him silently. Well… this was her plan, until she heard the bullet thud loudly into –what Sam could only assume to be flesh- Her assumption was proven right when a loud, blood-curdling scream belted through her eardrums, causing her to snarl slightly. Just as she had predicted, the Batarian bastard jogged past the gap, not even looking to where Sam had tucked herself away. _

_There were more dull thudding sounds, followed by smaller –but no less pained- screams. The screams were obviously female, which made Shepard seethe inside. Not only were these Batarians taking slaves, but they also killed any civilian that stepped an inch out of line. From young children, to fully grown men and women. They even went so far as to brutally slaughter any of the elderly humans that they came across. If the slave was too old or to injured, death was the only option. However, it was not as simple as just putting a bullet into the back of the human's head, no. They would take pleasure in it. Asphyxiating them, torturing them, whatever got the job done slowest._

_After a few more screams, Shepard decided it was time to take the bastard Batarian from this world. She silently unclipped her trusty M-98 Widow. A lot of her comrades had been jealous of this fine weapon. It was jet black in colour, only, its retractable barrel was the colour of human blood as were the vents on both of the weapons sides. Sam had taken the tripod rest off of the front of the gun, mainly to improve maneuverer ability whilst on the move. Instead, the Widow had been fitted with a retractable tripod, which flipped out with the flick of a small switch underneath the sniper rifles barrel. _

_Turning on her cloaking module, Shepard stalked out of the alleyway. As she approached she realised that it was not only a woman that the Batarian was kicking, but a pregnant woman. Sam felt the blind rage soar freely within her veins, leaving a fiery trail in its wake. The innocent woman's screams were being dulled out by the sound of her own blood, pumping ferociously throughout her ears. Quicker than any bullet that the widow had ever fired, Shepard tilted the sniper rifle sideways. One of her hands gripping its barrel, the other holding the butt. She looped the sniper rifle over the slavers neck, slamming it painfully against his windpipe. The Batarian let out a choked shriek, followed by a dull sob. He writhed against Sam's body as he tried to pry himself free, but to no avail. Sam dropped the now bent gun to the floor beneath both of the feet, replacing its stranglehold with her own forearm._

"_How do you like it?" Her voice sounded like pure venom, which only served to frighten the already scared slaver, more . "HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?" No longer could she keep the volume out of her voice. She swung the Batarian around, so that both of their backs were facing away from the beaten woman. She had already been through enough… she did not need to see this as well. With that particular thought, Shepard raised her other hand, which was shaking wildly from unexpected nausea and the quickly building rage. Without another thought, she dug her index finger into one of the Batarians many eyes, pushing backward. This provoked deafening screams from the man, as well as a string of hysterical sobs from the pregnant woman behind her. Shepard thought that for the woman's sake, she should end this sooner rather than later. _

_Slowly, Sam wriggled her digit free from the slavers eye socket, pulling the eye out with it. This forced another loud cry from the Batarian, one which she never intended. Shepard swiftly placed both of her hands on either side of the slavers jaw, yanking it quickly. With a sickening crack, she felt his body go limp. Unwilling to support his body weight, Sam dropped him unceremoniously into a heap on the grassy floor. She let out a shivering sigh, before turning to face the woman behind her. Gently, Shepard crouched down next to the lady, who simply lay there in the foetal position, clutching tightly at the back of her head. Sam nervously observed the whimpering woman. To her shock she noticed the blood rapidly seeping from between her fingers._

"_Miss? You need help. Let me help you." Shepard's voice was hoarse and for the first time in what felt like a life time; it felt close to breaking. "Miss?" The woman shuddered slightly, as she took her blood stained hands away from the base of her skull. She looked up at Shepard, fear glazing her eyes._

"_You're okay now. It is safe." The pregnant woman only stared deeply into Sam's eyes, as if searching for an answer to what had just happened, yet she found none. "I'll carry you to the medics." Shepard was fully prepared to do that. She had lost too many good people today, she did not want to lose two more. Just as the marine stretched out her arms, offering the woman her support, the other stretched out her own bloodied hand, resting it against Sam's armoured forearm._

"_No," The injured woman stated weakly. "It is too late for me… for us." It was Shepard's turn to search for answers within the pregnant woman's eyes, and she did so. "They… they implanted me." The woman sat up and leaned forward, burying her still bleeding head into the crook of Sam's neck. "My husband! They took him!" A little hesitantly, Shepard placed a soothing hand upon the woman's back, soothing her gently with the pad of her thumb._

"_Hey… you still have your child. Let me get you to the medics. They can help you… both of you" She felt the other immediately begin to shake her head._

_Slowly, the pregnant lady pulled herself away from Sam's comforting embrace, looking her straight in the eyes. The woman recoiled slightly under Shepard's piercing gaze, but after a few seconds the uneasy sensation faded. The soldier made her feel safe and calm, yet, she had no idea why. This did not help however. When she was captured the first time, and subsequently implanted with the control chip –without anaesthetic- she had felt her unborn daughter begin to slip away from her. It was an even worse sensation than the implantation itself. She had been forced to watch as the Batarians burnt her husband, until nothing remained of him but a few charred body parts and a pile of dust. She felt the bile rising as she simply thought about it, but the soothing presence gently caressing her back took the badness away momentarily. Then again… all good things did have to end…_

"_No… my baby, she's… she's…" Again the volatile woman broke into tears. "Fading away." Shepard inhaled a shaky breath, her own eyes welling up as she hugged the woman tightly. "The slavers called me their prize. Two for the price of one, so they said." The woman's voice was shaky, and much to Sam's displeasure… fading. "Only that's not the case anymore, but they still have one of us." Her entire body racked with one giant sob, followed by a few sharp intakes of breath. "That is why I ask you," She drew back again, her sore, puffy eyes looking directly into Shepard's own misty green ones. "To finish off what they started. Kill me, before me and my child are turned into mindless drones." Sam swallowed hard. This was an innocent! A pregnant innocent, no less! Although the woman had felt her unborn daughter slipping away from her, she had not yet gone. The child was weakening by the second, however. _

"_I can't! You're innocent! It would go against everything I stand for!" Shepard tried to reason, but she knew it was a lost cause._

"_Give me your pistol, I'll do it myself." The woman's voice was growing in desperation. Sam hated to see a person like this. Yet, she knew that this lady was arguing her case to a metaphorical brick wall. Shepard would never let her kill herself and her child, not when there were other ways out of this. Sam was snapped out of her mental disagreement when the woman broke down into tears. Shepard moved closer to her, hugging her once more. _

"_I'm sorry… believe me I am, but I can't let you-" Sam cut short when she felt a soft touch near her holster. She knew all along that by moving closer to the woman, she was officially signing the woman and her baby's death warrants, yet some part of her could not help it. Rapidly the woman pulled Sam's pistol away, pointing it directly at her skull. _

"_No. I'm the one who is sorry… this isn't your fault... don't ever think that. It is just a case of wrong place, wrong time." And with that, the pregnant woman pulled the trigger. Sam exhaled sharply, biting her lower lip in an unsuccessful attempt to stop it from trembling. Quietly, she stood to her feet, leaving her pistol with the now dead woman._

"_It is my fault…" Shepard muttered into the wind. A sudden surge of unexpected nausea flushed over the young soldier pulling her to the ground like a weight. Her body began to prickle with heat, her vision blurring. This was not a familiar experience. It felt like it was coming from somewhere outside. Her vision flickered into darkness, taking –what felt like her soul- with it._

* * *

**Normandy SR1: March 23****rd ****2183.**

Liara delicately pulled herself away from the spectre. She blinked a few times in order to clear her currently bewildered mind. "Dr. T'soni!" A familiar voice rang out from the distance, causing her head to spin slightly. The asari felt someone softly grip both of her biceps from behind, giving them a reassuring squeeze. "Are you okay, doctor?" Once Liara was back to herself, she turned in Chakwas' hold, coming face to face with the anxious human.

Liara hesitated to begin with, worrying Chakwas' a little more. The human female was about to speak, but Liara got in there first, her soothing yet concerned tone rousing more of the humans own concern. "…I… I am not sure. One minute I was there, the next it all started… spinning. I know that I am well. I am just not sure if Samantha is. Something felt wrong…" Both women turned to the commander, the pair of them noticing the thin sheen of sweat coating Shepard's brow. The two doctors were in the middle of sharing a concerned look, when a shallow, wheezy breath came from the very bed that they were previously focused on.

Quickly, Chakwas darted around the table, resting her index and middle finger against Sam's restrained wrist. "That's higher than it should be." The human mused, more to herself than to anyone else. She gave a sweeping glance to the drip that gave Shepard the correct nutrients. With the recent development of Shepard's condition, the soldier would now have to go to the doctor for daily nourishment, as opposed to going to the canteen. Shepard's allergies were going to make her life very difficult. She would only be able to eat specially prepared 'bland meals' as other sufferers called them, or she could come to Chakwas. If she did come to the doctor, Shepard would be given special tubes –not that dissimilar to that of the common toothpaste container- these tubes would give her all of the nutrition that she required in one, awful tasting package. The other option consisted of Shepard being connected up to a special I.V drip and Chakwas knew very well that Samantha Shepard would like that particular option least of all. Either way, Shepard would be subjected to culinary hell. Chakwas felt a pang of sympathy for the poor marine. Of course, this was one of the extreme downsides to medi-gel. Only a handful of humans suffered with this side-effect, but that handful of people would never lead an average life… not by a huge margin in Shepard's case.

"Is she okay, doctor Chakwas?" Liara asked softly. The human had known about the asari and the spectre's relationship for a considerable amount of time, though she did not yet know of Shepard's "little mishap" involving a certain bar tender. Nevertheless, she could sense the deep-routed concern that boldly underlined Liara's words. Chakwas opened her mouth to reply with a simple yes, but then quickly closed it when she saw the small drug vial beside the commander's bed. The elder human swiftly grabbed it, bringing it closer to her eyes so that she could read its label. As she suspected, one of the dozy medics had injected her with a painkiller that Shepard's body had simply rejected, flat out. Though she really shouldn't blame the medics. Shepard had vanished before she could be fitted with her allergy band, warning others of her condition. Just as rapidly as she had picked the small vial up, she had put it back down. However, she had replaced it with an epipen, which she pressed against Sam's thigh, injecting her with its contents.

Again, the doctor reached for one of Shepard's still restrained wrists. She felt the pulse relax slightly, relaxing her own nerves in turn. "Now she is." Chakwas put recapped the epipen and placed it into the sharps bin behind her, after which she came back to Sam's bed side. The human chuckled softly as she realised that she was being watched intently by the confused maiden. "Allergic reaction." She clarified, which earned her an understanding, yet sorrow-filled expression from Liara.

Of course the young asari knew of Sam's condition. In fact, it probably would have been safe to say that Liara knew more of it than Shepard did herself. Chakwas chortled internally. She had a feeling that that would be the same way for good. Liara reminding her to eat the correct food at the correct time, to keep her allergy band on, not to do this or that. It bought an amused smile to her lips. Although it was no laughing matter, the image of the strong spectre being told was to do by the asari maiden made her laugh. With the sudden recollection of the allergy band, the elder human darted into the storage room, arriving back to the med-bay with a 3cm wide, yellow and black, Velcro wristband, which she immediately wrapped around Shepard's right wrist. At first Liara was confused as to what it represented, but after a while it all became pretty clear.

"Is there any chance we can take her out of these?" The asari scientist motioned at the restraints. Chakwas also wanted to let Shepard out of them. It was more probable than not, that Sam was going to feel rather ill when she woke up –due to her reaction to the medication- and having her unable to move comfortably was not going to help. With that in mind, the human doctor made short work of removing the restraints, freeing the young commander of them. A few seconds after she had taken them off, Shepard brought her knees up to her chest, curling into the foetal position. Chakwas could see from where she stood that the spectre was not well, as could Liara. Again, they both shared concerned glances. More often than not with medi-gel allergies, the effects of any reaction lasted for a few days afterwards. Chakwas surmised that it was much like a quarian reaction, after a suit puncture. "Are you sure that Shepard is well?" Liara never took her eyes off of the sleeping spectre as she spoke.

"She will be in time, though she may suffer from nausea and headaches for the next few days." The asari gave an understanding nod. Gently she rested her hand upon the commander's shoulder, soothing her with the pad of her thumb just as she had seen Shepard do with the woman from her memory. The sudden recollection of what she had seen stung her mind. The compassion within Sam's heart and mind, made her want to weep for what had happened. _**'She blames herself for things out of her control…' **_Liara realised sharply. _**'If she has been doing that since then, then how much guilt is Samantha carrying around with her? Virmire's destruction? Saren's death? …My mother's capture?'**_ With a heavy gulp, Liara continued to soothe Shepard. The asari smiled when she saw and felt the ill spectre relax under gentle touch.

Liara felt awful. She also felt as though she was in part, responsible for everything. Had she not slapped the spectre and then pushed her away, Sam would not have gone off and somehow; end up battering one of her closest friends. The uncomfortable sensation of guilt subsided, when the spectre groaned softly as she rolled onto her back. One of Shepard's eyes twitched open, shortly followed by the other.

"How did I end up in here… again?" Her question was a simple, tired whisper. Liara could not help but smile at the commander's odd sense of humour. However, she could tell that something with the spectre was slightly off. _**'It is probably just the nausea, Dr. Chakwas spoke of earlier.'**_ Shepard let out an exasperated sigh whilst she moved a little under the sheet. "To hot." The comment was aimed at no one in particular. Sam tried pushing the thin sheet off of herself, but lacked the energy to do so. Another sigh left Shepard's lips when she let her currently weak arms fall to her sides. Liara could not stop the rush of desire, just the pull the spectre into a hug, to tell her everything was okay. With their agreement in place however, that seemed like a bad idea.

Chakwas paced over to the bedside as soon as she heard the sound of Sam stirring. Carefully, the doctor pressed the palm of her hand to the commander's forehead. "She has a fever." Chakwas diagnosed. Much to Sam's relief, Liara pulled the blanket down partly, thus letting the cooler air reach her hot skin. "It would be wise to keep you in here until I can be sure that you are well." Much to Chakwas' surprise, Shepard did not protest. Perhaps it was just the lack of energy.

"Migraine…" Sam whispered weakly, though a snarling mouth. The elder human's brow raised slightly. Of course she knew that Shepard was an L2 and much like lieutenant Alenko, she suffered from migraines. Mix this together with the high fever that she was running and Chakwas should have predicted this sooner. With a quick glance toward the worried asari, the human doctor grabbed a drug vial containing a painkiller -one which was safe for Shepard to take- and injected it into the I.V. Liara noticed the pinch on the bridge of her nose slowly smooth out, leaving the spectre looking peaceful, at last. For some reason lost to the asari scientist, she softly took the commander's hand –which was surprisingly cold- into her own, caressing the back of it with her thumb.

* * *

During the next few days, Shepard started to become more animated. Though she was not ready to eat any kind of solids yet. She was still sick, just not sick enough that she could barely speak. Liara had hardly left the spectre side during those few days, the only times that she did leave her, were to tend to her own nourishment and sleep needs, but she often caught the latter whist sat with Shepard. The pair of them had spoken of things that Shepard's damaged memory failed to recall such as, the battle itself and the race to the conduit. Shepard vividly remembered something's; like saving the matriarch and speaking with the rachni queen. Then there were the thorian creepers, though she had no knowledge of the thorian itself. She vaguely recalled an asari… Shiala, but that seemed the extent of it and all of those memories seemed like separate things to Sam. In her mind they were just ordinary missions –save for saving Benezia- and not the lead up to her epic battle against Saren, Sovereign and the geth.

Since the battle, parts of her memories had come back to her, yet they were never whole. And from the way Liara describes it, it was quite an experience. Shepard only hoped that in time it would all come flowing back. However, what the scientist did not tell her, was the trials and tribulations that they all had to face. From the asari commando's and thorian creepers that nearly beat Kaidan to death, to the rachni drone that killed a scientist right before them, by impaling him through his chest.

"Liara…" Shepard started, but hesitated suddenly, as if she feared saying something wrong. "You don't have to stay here if you don't want to." She paused quickly. Liara could see the commander grit her teeth and she could tell from Sam's expression that she was chiding herself internally. "…Not that I mind you being here… it's just… ah, hmm…" Shepard held her clenched fists out in front of her, as if bracing herself for something. Liara could not help but smile at the spectre's odd behaviour.

"And here I thought that I was the 'shy and awkward' one." Shepard flashed a brief, yet glorious white smile. She looked over at the asari, who had one eyebrow cocked.

The smile quickly faded leaving the room empty and dull once more. Sam simply stared down at her clenched fists. She was still weak, her grip like that of a kitten holding onto a ball of wool. "I… I'm sorry. It's just that," She let out a shaky sigh before continuing. "I _have _put you through a lot… I would understand if you decided to leav-" Sam halted that sentence almost immediately when she felt Liara slip her hand into her own, placing another beautiful blue hand on top of that one, sandwiching her own lightly tanned hand in the middle.

"No. You have been through a lot… you still are in fact. I am here for you." The asari's voice was one of warmth, soothing Sam's frantic mind. "And I always will be." With the last few words, Liara stood to her feet, Shepard's hand still intertwined with her own. Steadily, the scientist lifted her other hand, placing it softly upon Sam's cheek. The spectre was unable to think when Liara's soft lips brushed against her own. The kiss was brief, yet it brought things previously frayed, closer together once more. Although Liara was not ready to forgive what Samantha had done, she was willing to put it to one side whilst she helped the commander get back the full heath. She still needed to talk about what happened between them both, but Liara would wait until a more appropriate time.

A sudden thought hit Sam. She did not know what to make of it, but it made sense within her mind. Not that she would ever doubt the asari doctor in that way… "You don't feel sorry for me, do you?" The asari rested her forehead against Shepard's own.

"That would _never_ be the case." That was all Sam needed to hear. She would believe anything Liara told her. Shepard only wished that the asari could feel the same way about her. "Actually, whilst you were unconscious… something happened to you." When Shepard did not say anything, she decided to continue. "You heart rate became erratic and uncontrollable…" Liara's voice became a soft whisper, almost breaking as she remembered that tough moment. "I… I had to enter your mind, to see if I could help you. I am sorry for invading your privacy, but it was the only optio-" It was Liara's turn to be silenced, and she was. Sam pressed her lips against the beautiful asari's in an unbelievably tender kiss that transcended Liara's universe. When Shepard pulled away, the doctor was breathless. It still came as a shock to her when she felt how tender the usually tough marine could be.

"I understand. You don't have to justify yourself to me. You helped me out when I needed it the most… thank you." She pressed another tender kiss to Liara's lips. This time the asari was prepared for it, and she accepted it gladly. The sensation of Shepard's soft lips against her own, sparked fires deep within her, but she was not ready to take that step with Sam yet. The archaeologist wanted to wait until the mutual trust between them had restored… as much as it could be anyway. Her heart would shatter if Shepard was to do something else like that. In time between Sam telling her the bad news and now, Liara had felt lost without her spectre. Sam's constant support and encouraging words always felt like a cold balm to her frayed nerves. Liara could not imagine life without this woman.

"I saw something however, something that you may not have wished for anyone to see." Her mind travelled back to the horrific sight of that poor, desperate woman, putting the pistol against her temple, ending both her own and her child's life. Liara winced at the memory… at the way that Samantha blamed herself…

"You saw it to, didn't you?" She asked in a whisper. Liara gently nodded against Shepard's forehead. "Elysium. I had just managed to get everyone back to the main base. After that I went out scouting for anyone else… much to the colonist's dismay. They were all scared. They needed someone to protect them, but I couldn't stand there in safety whilst there may have been more innocents outside, being implanted with those… things. When I got to her… well you saw." Shepard's voice sounded choked, like she was trying to fight back the tears. "It was _my _fault." Shepard admitted softly. Liara hated to see Sam like this. Beating herself up about things so far from her grasp. "If I had acted sooner, I could have… I… I…"

Liara took her other hand away from Shepard's own, placing it on her other cheek instead. "You would have been killed… or taken, along with that poor woman. You, Samantha Shepard, gave her what she wanted: to die on her own terms, and she did so." Sam's bottom lip trembled when she bit down on it. Deep down Shepard knew Liara was right, why else would the woman kill herself… her daughter? "If she had not taken her own life, she and her child would have been forced into slave labour, via control chip… a fate worse than death." Sam agreed whole heartedly agreed with that. She had heard of the Mindoir colony and what had occurred there, nearly an entire colony gone, just like that.

Sam was just about to pull herself out of the deep black hole of guilt, the very same black hole that had swallowed her all those years ago. "I know… I know. I just can't stop thinking about it, though. She wasn't the only casualty of mine that day, you know? A boy… a thirteen year old boy: Ronnie his name was. The Batarians didn't like his attitude, so they shot him where he stood. Five of them, their military grade assault rifles picking at him, right in front of his family to… and I just hid there in the shadows, waiting for a chance." Shepard's expression grew deep, worrying Liara. She believed that she just beginning to get through to her, but no, she had merely begun to scratch the surface of Shepard's guilt covered past.

Liara decided that she had pushed Sam enough for one day. So the scientist opted for some different questions. "Are you feeling any better today?" Liara sat up straight now, taking Shepard's trembling hands into her own. Sam was still a bit dazed about their previous discussion, but quickly snapped out of it when Liara gave her hand a soft squeeze.

"Hmm?"

The asari smiled warmly at Shepard. "Are you feeling better today?" Her question remained the same as before, yet it held the same amount of trepidation as it had then. Sam gave a silent nod. How could Liara not worry about this woman? She was so tactful at not saying enough for people to judge her, and Liara knew well that there was nothing in this galaxy that Sam hated more than being told what to do, unless she was under orders. The scientist looked straight into Sam's –somehow dimmer- olive green eyes, keeping them locked together as they simply sat there in silence.

It was during said silence, when Chakwas made an appearance. The elder human headed straight for Sam and Liara, the same data-pad within her grip. "Ah, Commander! It is good to see you looking better. How are you feeling?" Liara and Shepard swapped quick glances, smiling at one another when they both realised that the asari had not long asked the same question.

"Much better thanks, doctor." The spectre kept her steady gaze upon Liara, as if hinting that she had fixed her somewhat. "Is there any chance of me getting out of here soon? I rescheduled my meeting with the council once already… I doubt that they would be happy if I did it again." Chakwas gave her data-pad the quick once over, lifting her head with a smile once she had finished.

"That they wouldn't be. Luckily for you, you will be fine. You can leave whenever you are ready. Just stay hydrated… oh and keep away from the food, your food is back here." Chakwas finished softly, pointing her thumb to the lab behind her. She and Liara both knew that this was a tough subject for Shepard, It probably always would be. "If you are unsure of _anything_, come to me." The humans tone was kind of; motherly. Sam was used to this however, what with Chakwas and her mother being such close friends and all.

"Will do, doctor." Shepard made to get off the bed, Liara helping her as she went. "Thank you." Sam placed a soft kiss upon the asari's forehead. Chakwas turned to leave the partitioned off area, so that Shepard could change back into her BDU'S. Liara gently removed the medical robe off of Sam's still weak form, revealing the svelte, athletically toned and well defined body underneath, Liara's breath hitched when she saw the wondrous sight, again she thought of how Shepard could be so tender, when she was so strong, both physically and mentally. Slowly, the scientist passed Shepard her t-shirt and trousers. With a quiet groan, Sam tugged them both on. "Thanks Liara." She emphasised her thanks by placing another tender kiss upon the asari's forehead. "I don't know what I would do without you." It was a haphazard comment, but it meant the universe to Liara and in seeing the doctor smile, it meant the very same to Shepard.

"_Bed rest!_" The human doctor ordered Sam as she came back to them. "You still not one-hundred percent. I suggest leaving it for a few more days before going to see the council. The last thing you want to do is throw up in one of the councillors' laps." Sam chuckled softly at the thought of that.

"As fun as that sounds, it may not serve me any good in the: 'Shepard is crazy.' Department." Liara smiled and nudged Sam gently in the side. Seeing the pair acting so casually around one another brought a smile to Chakwas' face. "Anyway, thank you for helping me out, Doctor. I appreciate it."

Chakwas waved the praise off with a small flick of her hand. "Just doing my job."

"Yes… I have heard that one before." Liara deadpanned. Chakwas laughed out loud when Shepard teasingly scowled at the scientist, unconsciously initiating a stare-off. Liara held her corner… well she did until Sam snapped one of her fingers, causing the asari's gaze to fall to were the sound came from. When she realised what Shepard had done, she scrunched her fists in front of her chest, pounding the air beneath it once for effect.

"Cheat." Liara's tone was light and amusingly cross all at the same time. Shepard could not help but chuckle at the woman's secret competitive streak.

"Yeah? What are you going to do about it, T'soni?" Liara cocked her brow deviously, causing Sam to scowl even harder. The asari stroked her chin with one hand, placing the other on Sam's back as she gently pushed the taller woman partially through the med bay doors.

"Oh, spectre. You do not want to know what I could do." Chakwas -who still able to hear the pair as they rounded away from the med bay- laughed. She could not help but feel ecstatically happy for the young pair. Liara was a brilliant minded, beautiful young woman and a soothing centre to Shepard's sometimes stormy personality. Sam was also brilliantly minded, more so than she let on in fact. She was a gorgeous woman herself, one with an excellent sense of humour no less. Chakwas concluded that the pair were perfect for one another, which was something that had become more uncommon in recent times.

As Chakwas rounded her desk she took a seat, letting out a long breath of air as she did so. The doctor glanced over at Ashley's now empty bed. The chief had been let out during the time that Liara was helping Shepard with her own thoughts. At first Chakwas was a little reluctant to let Williams leave, but as Ash pointed out many a time: most of her injuries were merely superficial –save for the dislocated jaw and strained neck- but she could live with those.

Chakwas let out another sigh when she reached for a data-pad. She flicked the tiny switch on the thin edge of the device, unlocking it. After which, the human doctor scanned through the contents briefly. Chakwas smiled like a Cheshire cat when she remembered her "little" discovery. The data-pad in her hand held a detailed report about how Shepard and another female student –the principles daughter- had been caught in a compromising position at the one New York high school she had attended, during the particularly long periods of time that her parents were away. She had been enrolled into the high school, along with a few other kids who happened to be in the same position as herself. Chakwas had heard from Hannah's mouth that Samantha enjoyed going to school on earth, and after that particular vid-debrief with the principle, she knew exactly why.

* * *

Shepard and Liara slowly walked over to the cabin. Once the door closed, the asari turned around to face the taller woman. When Shepard noticed Liara do this, she also turned around; so that she and the asari doctor were now face to face. "Liara…" Sam let out a deep breath of air, before continuing. All of the confidence and cockiness that came from Shepard mere minutes ago were now completely gone, leaving Liara with the true Samantha… the Samantha only she knew. "You've taken a _huge_ chance with me and… you won't believe how much that means to me, but… I know that you want to talk… about what happened, as do I. I just don't want to push things with you..." Shepard let out another sigh, as if clearing her mind. "I'm just letting you know that whenever you want to talk about things, I'll be here." Liara smiled warmly at Shepard's honesty and was about to speak, when Sam swiftly finished off her speech. "Just know that, I _do_,I mean, _I really do_ regret what happened. And I promise you _now_ that, that will _never_ happen again." The asari saw that Shepard spoke nothing but the truth and it melted her previously broken heart to hear it.

Liara stepped closer to the spectre, looping her arms around Shepard's neck. "I trust that what you say is true, but these hurt feelings of mine will not fade quickly." Sam nodded understandingly with the doctor's words. "And believe it or not, I was just about to ask you the same thing. We may talk whenever you feel that you are able to. For now though, I suggest getting you to bed. You feel cold." Liara ran a delicate finger up Shepard's forearm, noting the chilled skin as she did. She took the commander's larger hand into her own and guided the taller woman over to the bed.

Once they reached the bed, Liara pulled out one pair of black N7 shorts and matching t-shirt, before pulling out the matching white pair. At first Sam was shocked to see that the beautiful asari would be sharing her bed again, but then she reminded herself that she was ill and that Liara was most probably just looking after her. "Thanks." Shepard muttered sadly, as Liara passed her the clothes. The asari noticed the lost look in the spectre's lowered eyes and immediately set about finding its source. She gently threw the clothes onto the bed before climbing on herself. The doctor ran her hand over Sam's muscular upper back and took hold of the opposite shoulder blade, pulling Shepard over to her gently. "Samantha, what is wrong?" Liara could not keep the pleading tone out of her voice when she spoke, all she wanted was to see that happy-go-lucky woman along with her beautiful smile. But Sam just couldn't get there.

"I don't know… I… I hate myself for what I did to you. I don't deserve someone as good as you, Liara. You deserve the best of the best, not some loser who can't even eat food anymore." Sam choked up on her last few words. Liara saw what Shepard was saying and damned it. This broken woman before her was the best of the best, there was no doubt about that. Samantha Shepard had saved the citadel along with the council, if anything; Liara thought that Shepard deserved better than her. The commander could have anyone she wanted, yet she chose her. Liara's heart fluttered with the realisation. "I'm sorry…" Sam uttered as she cupped her face and began sobbing softly.

"What happened to you; health-wise, was not you're doing. I _will _make sure that you understand that. And I _will_ take care of you, no matter how hard you insist otherwise, because I love you." Sam's heart paused briefly as she mulled the statement over. After a few seconds Shepard pulled Liara into a tight embrace, until that moment neither of them knew just how much they needed the other, and now that they were back as one, they would never let each other go. Of course there would be difficulties along the way, but _together _they would handle it.

"I love you to, Liara. God, I love you." Liara smiled into the crook of Samantha's neck. No matter how many times those words had been said; past, present and future. Liara T'soni would never tire of hearing Shepard say them to her.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the long wait for this chapter to any of you whom actually care for my feeble excuses. Basically my birthday and a spot of writers block. So… again sorry, I promise it won't happen again. In a few more chapters or so, I am going to try and really kick the story off. You know, the whole Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2 transition. Don't worry however; I have some pretty fresh ideas for that part. Any who… thanks for reading guys, you all rock! And please hit the review button… It is right there… *pulls sad face, followed by a wild flail of the arms* but in all seriousness, I'd like to hear what you guys have to say. Good or bad, it helps me write. :-)


	10. Talk and Horror

**Mass Effect: An Epic Tale: Chapter 10.**

Peewit22

Hoot! Hoot! Double figures! I haven't been the excited since… well… I don't know when… I am going to send out my thank you's now so… yeah... that…

YoungTruthLP – Thank you buddy for your kind words and fantastic support, you really helped me dig myself out of a hole full of writer's block… if you understand what I'm trying to say. :D

Elmjuniper – You rule 100%! As do your own stories and I hold your feedback in great esteem, thank you for taking the time to review and share your thoughts!

Toxiclove17 – Thank you so much for your kind words, you really helped me out. I'm glad that I was able to help with your boredom. :)

Guest – Much love friend! Thank you for reviewing. And more thanks for sharing your opinion with me; my main goal was to bring a fresh view to the proverbial table. So again: thanks! *High-five*

Birthofthecool – I'm sorry that you feel that way, but your opinion is highly valued nevertheless! :)

Cmdr Shepard – Haha, dude! Happy way, way, way… belated birthday! I'm glad you enjoyed the story as well as your birthday, I hope. :) Your feedback was and still _is_ much appreciated. :D

Trekker1982 – Nah, you didn't miss anything. The story can get a little confusing at times; even I have no idea sometimes. Jokes… But yeah, I hope you can eventually get into the swing of things. I appreciate your feedback.

This chapter will get G to the O to the R to the Y… Gory. If you don't like that sort of stuff, I humbly suggest you skip this chapter. But if not: enjoy!

Oh and elmjuniper? HEAD SHOTS RULE! *clears throat* Sorry… it had to be said. Ashley and Shepard will become friends again soon; with a little help from a mysterious someone. Though I haven't really got that idea down yet… as I said mere seconds ago: it's still an idea, but they _will_ be friends again, so no worries. Anyway to the story! Shall we?

Disclaimer: You know what? I _do _own Bioware! …Kidding! Really I am! Don't hurt me Bioware… *Chuckles nervously * :D

* * *

Liara and Shepard simply sat upon the bed for a while, basking in the familiar touch of one another. Once more, the scientist noted how cold Samantha's skin felt to the touch. "Shepard, you really ought to get into bed. You are still freezing cold." The spectre pulled her head away from Liara's warm chest; with a nod and a sigh. Stiffly she reached for her bed time clothes, her body still sore from the week's events.

"Your right." Shepard stood up from the bed on slightly wobbly legs. Just as Dr. Chakwas had told both she and Liara earlier; Sam was not one-hundred percent and Liara could definitely see that. The commander's skin was much paler then it should have been, it also had an odd bluish/purple tint to it, worrying the asari archaeologist immensely. She could also see her loves arms shivering gently. In a rather hurried manner, Liara also got to her feet. She crossed over the bed, standing before Shepard, who was still struggling to get her t-shirt on.

The commander let out a tired groan when Liara gripped the bottom of her shirt; gently helping her put it on. After which, Sam dropped to the bed so that she could put her shorts on. At first the asari was reluctant to simply stand back, but deep down she knew that the woman of her heart could dress herself… even if she was near freezing and by the looks of it; a little queasy. Once she was sure that the spectre was dressed and comfortable, the doctor made short work of changing herself. Sam pulled the quilt away behind her, sliding into it afterwards. She silently observed Liara change, letting out a bear wisp of a snort when the asari was done. Liara also climbed into the bed, watching her own love curiously as she did so, wondering what the little noise was all about.

"How do you make things look so… effortless?" Sam was blinking much slower now; showing the asari doctor the true extent of her tiredness. Liara giggled herself, both about the off-handed compliment and the way her lover had begun to systematically shut down.

Under the covers; she took Shepard's frozen hand into the two of her own, caressingly it softly in an attempt to warm her up. "You also have a way of making things look effortless; however, right now you are in no condition to do so. You need to sleep, my love." Sam gave a half-hearted nod, before burring herself deeper into the bed, pulling the quilt tighter to her cold body. When Liara was satisfied that Samantha was okay, she snuggled up behind her again, trying to warm her up. She wrapped her arms around Shepard's slender waist, tugging her closer.

"Sleep well, love." She kissed Sam's back softly, secretly comforting the spectre; who let out an exhausted growl in response to Liara's sentiment. The asari could not help but smile at the way they were right now: comfortable, even if Shepard was slightly out of her element.

* * *

When Liara awoke, she felt a –now warm- shoulder underneath her cheek. She smiled as she slowly lifted her head, her smile only grew wider when she noticed that some of the colour had returned to her lovers face. Shepard however, was staring to somewhere off into the distance, but something about the spectre's face told Liara that she wasn't really focusing upon anything specific. "Samantha, are you okay?" Once of Shepard's eyelids blinked slowly, shortly followed by the other. The spectre let out a refreshed breath of air, before turning her head and lowering her light olive green gaze to meet Liara's own.

"I'm fine… _better_ in fact, even more so; now that you're awake." Shepard lowered herself back down, so that she was now lying flat against the bed. The commander rolled onto her side so that she was face to face with the love of her life. Sam snuggled closer to the asari, provoking an adorable giggle out of her. "Plans for today?" Liara gave a little shrug, before pulling the spectre closer to her by the neck.

"Maybe we should just stay here for a while." Sam raised her arm from under the warm quilt, firing off a tiny mock salute in Liara's direction.

"Yes _Miss_…" Liara giggled adorably again, but this time however, she teasingly punched her lover in the shoulder. Shepard rolled onto her back playfully writhing as she did so, suddenly her entire body became limp. Liara examined the spectre thoughtfully for a few moments surmising that she was "dead." The asari ran her finger finely underneath Sam's chin, watching her face intently for any reaction. When there was none; she decided to run her hand lower. She ran it down Shepard's throat –still no reaction- down over her chest –_still _no reaction- then finally over her attractive abs, this time when her finger was just above Sam's navel, the commander snorted quietly. Liara felt the strong muscles beneath her index finger flex.

"Sensitive spot?" The doctor asked amusedly. Shepard cracked one eyelid open, using it to look intently into her loves eyes. Liara kept her hand upon Sam's well-toned stomach, adding a little more pressure to one of her slender blue digits. Once again she felt the spectre's muscles jerk, only this time she could not hold her amusement in. Gently, Sam took hold of Liara, tugging her so that the asari was on top of her.

"Never speak of this to anyone." Sam spoke in a playfully serious tone. Liara could not help the smile that broke out upon her face."I'm serious Miss. T'soni! That would be a… capital offence." Liara continued smiling down at the woman she was now straddling; only now she had one eyebrow cocked in humour.

"Hmm… capital offence? Capital offence to what?" She asked teasingly, whilst simultaneously resting both of her palms softly against the spectres collar bones.

Sam looked dazed at first, her eyes rolling up towards her eyebrows as she searched for some kind of answer. "Ugh… against the wondrous, fantastic state that you may know as: Shepard. I insist that you desist, Miss." The asari's smile grew wider along with Sam's words, her hands slowly making their way back down to the commander's toned abdomen. Shepard let out a quiet, startled laugh. She took hold of Liara's wrists, gently pulling her lover down once more.

The pair paused for a moment when their faces came inches away from one another's, their lips begging to touch the others. Liara stared deeply into _those_ olive-green eyes, mentally praying that Sam would just close the gap and press their lips together. The asari felt her heart flutter as Shepard did just that, her lips brushing tenderly over Liara's perfect blue ones. The doctor was gently rolled over; so that Sam was on top –not that she would have noticed, or cared either way at this particular moment- she treaded her slim digits into the spectres soft black locks, pulling the other woman impossibly closer, simply wishing that her lovers tongue would heed to her invitation. As if reading the asari's mind, Sam did follow the silent order. Her tongue deftly entered Liara's mouth, pleasing the scientist to no end. A muffled moan emanated from Liara, lighting fires within Shepard, urging her on. Slowly, Sam pulled away from Liara. She caught the asari's bottom lip between her teeth; very delicately biting down on it, pulling more electrifying noises from the doctor.

"Shepard…" Liara stated breathily. The asari felt as though she was melting into the bed. She had no idea what Samantha was doing to her, but right now she couldn't care less. Liara _wanted_ Shepard and Shepard _wanted _Liara.

It was the spectres turn to smile down now and she did, her own dark eyebrow arched. Although Liara could no rouse her voice to admit it right now, she found it incredibly sexy when Shepard cocked her eyebrow in that fashion, it was roguish and that excited her to no end. The doctor's breath caught in her throat when Sam bent down and began planting maddening little kisses down the column of Liara's throat. The asari could not take it anymore so she roughly gripped the back of Sam's neck, pulling her into a long passionate kiss, her other hand working to take Sam's shirt off. With a little bit of help, Liara had now gotten Shepard's t-shirt off. The asari watched amusedly as the commander carelessly threw it behind her; without taking her eyes off of Liara's pale blue ones once.

The doctor looked at Sam's now half naked body in awe. The scars that marred her skin seemed to add to her rugged look. Liara ran her finger delicately over the still red scar that ran over the crook of Shepard's neck. She remembered the horrible sight of Saren plunging his talon into Sam once and then a second time. Her focus was drawn down to the other red scar that ran in between her ribs. Liara was quickly –and gladly- pulled from her thoughts when she felt Shepard's hand run up the back of her neck. She was not sure if Sam was aware of this or not, but the folds on the back of an asari's neck and skull were an erogenous zone.

Of course Shepard _knew_ this; she had known for quite some time and after that night that she had spent with the consort, it had been confirmed as _fact_. "Goddess, Shepard…" Liara breathed into Sam's shoulder, her back arching with the spectres ministrations.

The doctor clutched at Shepard's back, grazing the skin there with her fingernails. The sensation was not painful for the commander; it just showed her where she was going right. After a few more high-pitched moans from the dazed asari, Joker's voice came over the intercom. "Commander? There is an urgent call waiting for you in to comm room." Sam let out an exasperated sigh, hanging her head with a growl. Liara took this opportunity to place a kiss on the top of Shepard's head, showing the spectre how much she enjoyed what they had just shared. The commander simply snorted, her hot breath beating pleasantly against Liara's flushed; now indigo coloured cheek.

Shepard leaned centimetres away from where the asari's hearing canal was, before whispering. "Sorry, love…" The term of endearment mixed together with the huskiness of her voice, set Liara's brain alight. She wanted to simply pull the spectre down onto the bed to finish what they had started, but duty called for her commander… and that _always_ came first. The doctor lay breathless upon the bed barely taking notice of her surroundings, her hands still pinned up by her head where Shepard was keeping them. The commander caught a quick kiss off of Liara before getting off the bed for a quick shower.

Liara propped herself up on her elbows once Sam had left the room. She spared a quick glance over to the spectres bed side table, spotting the wide yellow and black wrist band. Leaning over, she picked it up, examining it closely between her fingers. One of the bands straps had been made out of an odd human invention known as Velcro, as horrid as the material felt; it _did _have its uses. Of course in this case; it meant that it could be kept on at all times… including whilst in the shower. Liara furrowed her brows slightly at this. _**'Samantha taking this off constantly won't do.' **_She thought. The pair of them would have to have words after she was showered. Urgent call or not; this band was a lifesaver and Liara would do anything to make sure Sam wore it.

The doctor quickly hopped out of the bed, changing into her own clothes afterwards. Just as she finished up; the shower stopped and a few minutes later, Shepard strolled out. Her hair was slightly damp and her well-toned and lightly tanned skin shimmered under the dull light with the sheen of water that coated her naked skin. She had a towel draped around her shoulders and her trousers fly was left unzipped. Liara once again drank it the sight of Shepard shirtless –save for the bra- The athletic woman strode over to the draws, pulling out a fresh BDU shirt. She was just about ready to tug it on, but she was stopped when a lithe pair arms slipped around her slender waist, holding her tight.

"I think you are forgetting something." Liara's voice was soft as she spoke, which soothed Shepard into a more… receptive state. The beautiful asari was trying to relax her lover so that when she askedher to put the wristband back on; there'd be a chance that she would comply. The spectre took the towel from around her neck, dropping it unceremoniously onto the floor, before throwing her t-shirt on top her scarred shoulder. She turned back around to face Liara, her eye instantly drawn to the irritating little band that would forever dictate her life. The archaeologist held the band up in a none-threatening manner, maybe that way Sam would take this as if she had a choice in the matter. However, to Liara this was no mere suggestion, but more of a… well-disguised command.

Shepard let out a tired breath of air. She had only just seen the band again, and already she was irritated by it. The spectres head dropped down slightly. Liara could still see her loves face, but Sam could only see the ground at their feet. Liara observed the commander silently for a few long minutes. Shepard's black eyebrows knitted together, her jaw clenching tightly. Liara lifted a hand and rested it softly against Sam's cheek, caressing the soft skin. "I know…" The commander muttered. Liara took this as an agreement; so she gently took hold of Shepard's right hand, resting it in the palm of her own. Slowly she separated the band so that it was just a strip, following on by wrapping it around Samantha's wrist; securing it comfortably.

Shepard fiddled with the band for a few moments before grasping the shirt that had been happily resting upon her shoulder. She pulled it over her head and began tucking it's baggy bottom into her trousers waistband –with Liara's help of course- "Sam, these uniforms are supposed to be skin tight, how is it that yours are loose?" The asari asked in mock annoyance. Shepard replied with an amused shrug.

"Well… I know for a fact that most women have these things called hips, but…" Sam gestured both hands to her boyish figure. "…But I myself; am built more like a plank of wood." She ran both of her hands downwards in parallel lines, hinting at her straight body shape. Liara captured both of Sam's hands, placing them on her own hips. "See! This is where I fail." She ran a delicate finger down Liara's softly curved hip and down her thigh, whilst the doctor looped her arms over the commander's shoulders, pulling her down slightly for a kiss. When the pair parted they rested their foreheads together, Liara's arms still looped around Shepard's neck. The asari laughed softly when she realised that one of Sam's hands was still resting upon her upper thigh. "Have I ever told you how beautiful your smile is?" Liara felt her heart leap with the compliment, more importantly: The woman that it had come from.

"I do not believe that you have ever told me that, no... no, you have never said that." She said through her perfect, pearly white smile. Shepard reached in to capture it with her own lips.

When they reluctantly broke apart from one another, Sam cupped Liara's face, brushing delicate thumbs over the archaeologist's cheekbones. "Well you do have _the_ most beautiful smile that_ I_ have ever had the pleasure of seeing." She punctuated her point by kissing the corner of Liara's mouth. "And kissing. However, as much as I would love to stay here and compliment you further, I have a call to take. So if you will excuse me, miss." Liara felt her heart melt as she watched her lover leave the room to take; whatever call it was.

Shepard walked up the staircase and through to the CIC, whilst simultaneously keeping the grin that so dearly wanted to escape, under control. That particular task was made easier when the commander remembered that she would have to go and speak with Ashley at some stage, as well as that xenophobic buffoon; Mikhailovich. She let out a deep sigh once she reached the interior of the comm room.

* * *

"_Joker? Patch the call through, please."_ Though no one could see him in the cockpit, a smile beamed brightly upon his bearded face. _**"Please?" Something isn't right!' **_He thought amusedly, before actually piping up.

"Yes commander, putting 'em through now." Joker fiddled with a few dials, flicking this and prodding that. When he eventually reached what he needed to; he sat back with a bag of potato chips, listening in on the conversation within the comm room.

* * *

"Commander Shepard! We have a serious problem!" Sam was slightly startled at first –as was Joker- however, she composed herself before asking what was wrong.

She took to parade rest stance in front of the comm link as the image of a certain, Admiral Hackett appeared upon the large screen. "Sorry Admiral? What seems to be the issue?" Mikhailovich flashed into her head, but her unspoken assumption was quickly dismissed.

"An Alliance patrol ship discovered an unknown dreadnaught out in the Hawking Eta cluster, more specifically: the Schwarzschild cluster, we told them to go in and investigate internally, but they too have gone dark. We sent another team of twenty-five soldiers to check up on them a week ago; and none of them have reported back yet either." Shepard nodded in agreement with what Hackett was saying.

"An unknown dreadnaught? How did that get lost out there? And how big of a threat does something have to be to make a dreadnaught sized vessel; fall silent?" This time Hackett nodded, agreeing with what the commander was saying completely. "And more to the point, why don't we know who is in charge of it?" This time instead of nodding he stepped closer to the screen.

"You are asking precisely the same questions as I did Shepard, but the council isn't bothered by it. They think that it is just another pirate attack." Shepard was about to open her mouth when the Admiral pulled a data-pad out from somewhere in front of him. He waved it by the screen; before reading its contents. "Commander, the readings that we got from this dreadnaught were off. Whatever is aboard that ship… we have never seen before. It's either that or our readings have been off for quite some time. I don't think that either of those options; are good options..." He passed the data-pad to an ensign, after which, he focused back upon Sam. "Shepard, I know that you haven't been at your best recently, but we need this problem dealt with. You just happen to be the only person in which I can truly believe in to get this done. Will you accept?" A few cogs quickly whirred within Shepard's mind, bringing her to a conclusion within in mere seconds.

"You can trust me to get it done, Admiral."

A rare smile appeared upon the weathered man's face. "Thank you, Sam… you have no idea…" The first name usage caught Shepard off guard at first, but then again, the admiral and her father are pretty close friends, much like her mother and Dr. Chakwas in that respect. Sam had even been told that the admiral was the best man at her mother and father's wedding. She had also been told about John Shepard's bachelor party a few days before the wedding. From the sounds of it, her father as well as David Anderson, Steven Hackett and a bunch of other crew members tore up most of New York that weekend, and apparently the bachelorette party fared much worse; more specifically: A rather drunk… and rather naked young Dr. Chakwas, alcohol and a police vehicle. That was all her mother had ever spoken of that particular night.

"I'll send you the co-ordinates to the Normandy right away… oh and Sam?" Shepard looked up into the concerned man's icy blue eyes. "Do be careful. Your mother and father would have my head if you got hurt." They both chuckled as the connection cut, leaving the spectre in a peaceful -albeit temporary- silence. Before heading to get some "breakfast," she decided that it would be most prudent to let the pilot know where they were headed.

Officially, shore leave hadn't ended yet, but orders were orders. These were only made more important; as they were issued by the great Admiral Hackett himself. Sam paced up to the cockpit, the faint smell of junk food entering her nose. It vexed her immensely to know that she could never actually eat anything of the sort… ever again.

Before the crippling anger set in once more, she found Joker at the helm, happily munching away on a bag of potato chips. "Hey commander! He waved a yellow stained, crumb covered hand in the air. "Would you like to try a… ahh, you know what; scratch that. Something you need commander?" Sam felt her heart sink slightly. _'How does everyone know about my… problem already?'_ The spectre glanced down at fat, bright yellow and black band around her wrist. _'Ah…' _Of course she had a feeling that Joker would have been told by Chakwas at some point, anyway. It would have been proper to tell those closest to the spectre, just to be on the safe side.

"Uh… actually, yes. Could you set a course for-"

Joker quickly swallowed the mush in his mouth before butting in. "Hawking Eta, got it! E.T.A: two hours." Sam was taken aback by his astute sense of direction. She stood up straighter, giving the pilot a cautious scowl.

"Yeah..." Sam turned to walk away, but not before giving him one more side-long look. "I'll be-"

"Grabbing some grub? I hear you."

Shepard was about to do exactly that and the pilot always guessing her moves before she could actually air them; was starting to freak her out a little. "Yeah… Uhh… if you need me after that, I'll be-"

"In your cabin? Gotcha!"

Sam blinked a few times, pinching the bridge of her nose. With one last side-long glare, she decided to retire until they reached their destination. "I'm losing my touch." She muttered to herself as she passed by a few confused ensigns. Shepard swiftly strolled by Pressly without a single word; which was odd for the talkative XO, but Sam figured that he was likely busy; so she simply carried on her journey to the med-bay. She wasn't feeling all that confident about eating from a tube, but the knowledge that she _had to_; pushed her onward.

The commander made her way down the staircase, coming to a gentle stop when she reached the med-bay doors. She simply stood there for a few moments, preparing herself for what she was about to face. Eventually Sam plucked up all of her courage, deciding that it was best to get this over with. The doors opened with a quiet "swish" bringing her immediately face-to-face with the English doctor.

"Hello, commander! Is there something I can help you with?" Half way through her sentence, Chakwas noticed the slightly disgusted look upon the spectres face, so she gave the spectre a chance to speak. As a doctor it was never wise to jump to conclusions, medically… or otherwise.

"I… ah…" Shepard started but gave up half-way through, swallowing thickly to try to rid herself of the lump that had suddenly formed within her throat.

The elder human took a step closer to the commander. "Shepard, are you feeling well?" She watched as Sam chewed upon her lower lip, her eyes falling to the floor as she shook her head.

"I… I'm kind of hungry…" Chakwas smiled suddenly, with the realisation that Shepard was actually fine.

She patted the soldier upon the shoulder, before darting off into the med-bay lab. The doctor returned with four differently coloured tubes. She held them out for Shepard to pick one. Sam looked at each tube and then back up to the doctor, a confused expression playing upon her face. "What's the difference?" She pointed her finger at the brown and silver tube first, then pointing the same finger at the black and silver tube. Chakwas smiled as she turned –what looked like a toothpaste tube- over in her hand.

"I believe they are differently flavoured." She answered with a shrug. The doctor tried to stifle a laugh when one of the spectres eyebrows arched up in question.

Shepard gave her own shrug before gently taking the brown and silver tube from Chakwas' open palm. The commander turned the tube around in her fingers curiously. "Beef..? Whose idea was it to put beef… in a _tube_?" The doctor laughed whole-heartedly at the spectres comment and Shepard could not stop the slight twitch at the corner of her mouth. "I suppose I'll give it a shot. There are always other ones, right?" Sam pointed at the other tubes in Chakwas' hands.

"Of course!" The doctor put the tubes back into the med-bay lab and came back out, just in time to see Shepard squeezing the tube. A thick brownish/red formula rose just over the top of the tubes opening. Shepard snarled at the look of the gooey liquid, before turning to look back at the doctor. Chakwas chuckled under her breath. "Eat up."

A look of distaste appeared on the spectres face. Her eyes drifted from Chakwas' own, back to the tube. "You know what? I'm not that hungry anymore." She popped the tubes cap back down, settling it upon a nearby surface. But before she could go anywhere, Sam felt a strong grip around her wrist, tugging her back.

"Oh no you don't!" The elder human picked the tube back up, popping the cap back open as she did so. "You _will _eat this. If you don't; _I will have_ you sedated and _I will put_ a drip into you." Sam was actually shocked by the sudden look of authority upon the doctor's face. She pulled back slightly, yet she was still unable to run away due to the tight grip around her wrist. "Do I have to go and get Dr. T'soni to talk to you?" Sam's brows furrowed slightly, she quickly shook her head. Sam hesitantly grabbed the tube, but not before Chakwas released her wrist, a victorious smile playing upon her face. "So… Is this how I can get you to behave from now on?" Shepard –who was busy wolfing down the tubes contents- scowled at the doctor, who simply laughed in retaliation.

Once the tube was empty, Sam released its cap from her mouth with a groan. "Can't you just kill me now?" The spectre grabbed the nearby bed's guard rail and coughed jokingly. "That stuff even feels like toothpaste in your mouth… it only gets worse when you swallow it." Chakwas chuckled once again, patting the commander on the back.

"It can't be all that bad. Just think about how Tali deals with it."

"Yeah, your right. MRE's aren't that great, but this!" She pointed frantically at the now flat tube. "This is like torture. What were the other flavours? Stale ass and elcor crap?" Chakwas could not help but laugh, Shepard was in her element during one of her rants.

"I'm sure you will get used to it in time. Now, I believe you have a mission to prepare us for?" Sam nodded, unsure of how the doctor already knew, but she let it pass.

"Yes. Speaking of which; I should go and tell the others." The silver haired woman gave a quick wave as the spectre headed out of the door. Just as Sam got outside she realised that she still at the empty tube in her hand. Eager to get rid of it, she headed towards her cabin.

"Shepard." She paused in her tracks as she recalled the smooth duo-toned sound of Garrus' voice. "Are we going to see what the council want soon?" Shepard could not help but chortle at the exasperated tone in the turians voice. Sam hoped that she had paved over the cracks in hers and the councils relationship, but with Garrus… it seemed not.

"Actually no... I received a mission brief earlier on from Admiral Hackett." Garrus' eyebrow plates rose slightly, indicating –what Sam could only assume to be- his new found curiosity.

"Oh really, where are we being sent now?"

She looked up to the tall turian, seeing the interest practically sparking from his sky blue eyes. "I'll tell you what Garrus, I'm going to brief everyone in the comm room in… let's say… three minutes. Can you tell Joker to let everyone else know." He nodded eagerly as he quickly trotted towards the staircase. Shepard shook her head in amusement. She had never met a friendlier turian in all of her days, and she _had_ met quite a few. Before anyone else could grab her attention, she strode past Kaidans terminal; without a second glance back.

Shepard entered her cabin and was greeted by the comfortable silence. She let out a deep breath of air as she pushed herself off of the now closed door. Sam threw the used tube onto her desk haphazardly. Usually such things would have gone straight into the recycling bin, but she was too preoccupied to take notice. The spectre sat in the leather office chair, throwing her feet onto the desk as she did so. After a few minutes of silence, she picked up the small polished black cube that Tali had given her and began twiddling it between her fingers. As she did so she recalled the quarian telling her of how Liara would not let her see it at the time of its discovery. Now that her mind was clear, she knew that the asari had made the right call by not letting Tali hand it to her. Briefly, she recalled punching Ashley in the face.

Her scar flashed a sudden blood red colour along with the self-hatred and anger that was thrown up into her mind. At this very moment the door silently opened, revealing a certain asari doctor. Sam did not notice Liara's entrance, as she was too involved in spinning the cube around on its corner upon the tip of index finger. The doctor however; did notice Shepard, and the red glow that had begun emanating from her head wound. She did not wish to give her lover a start; so she padded over to where Sam sat, smiling softly as she watched Shepard fondly play with the oddly familiar object.

Sam suddenly realised that someone else was in the room, but she did not show it. She simply caught the cube in the palm of her hand, before letting her eyes slowly drift over to the beautiful asari standing in front of her. "Hey!" Sam got to her feet, gently taking the asari's hands into her own, pulling her lover into a soft embrace. Liara let out the breath of air she had been holding in; when the wounds red glow died down.

"My, my Shepard; you seem awfully chipper. What's gotten into you?" Sam placed the cube back onto her desk, sliding it towards the back somewhere.

"You're here and… that makes me happy. Plus we have a mission, but that is neither here nor there!" Shepard pulled back from the hug, taking Liara's hand into her own. "Come on, we have a briefing to get to." Liara giggled lovingly at her lover's excitable mood.

The asari huffed playfully at Sam's sudden excitement. "I am almost certain that you are more excited about this upcoming mission; then you are at seeing me." Shepard could sense the teasing note within her asari lover's voice, so she decided to roll with it.

"Well, well, well, Dr… are you jealous of the relationship I share with _my mission?_" Sam made her voice sound slightly wistful as she spoke the word 'mission.' And Liara was having a hard time with keeping her grin hidden.

The doctor did not understand human humour to begin with, but after observing Shepard and her other human teammates –along with some none humans: Wrex seemed to have a good grasp on what made human's laugh- she had come to realise something about it. A sense of humour was something that Liara found odd. Sam had once told her that many people had a different one. The asari had thought on this and had realised that Sam was amused the most when she was doing simple things or when she was confronted with things that were out of the ordinary orthat were tremendously off-topic. The asari had never met another person with this similar; odd sense of humour, but rest assured, with Sam around; she likely would.

"What if I were to say, yes?" Sam chortled at the asari's tone.

"My apologies. I'll call it off ASAP; I promise. For now however, I suggest that we concentrate upon getting up this staircase." Liara giggled when she looked down, noticing Sam's boot teetering upon the edge of the step. Shepard gave the asari's hand a quick squeeze and her lips a chaste kiss; before letting go to open the door. Liara knew that it was to do with the spectre's professional image, she did not mind that. She knew that people would think it inappropriate if she and the commander were to stroll around the Normandy holding hands, but she could not help the awful sensation of loss as the warmth of her spectres hand vanished from her own.

The pair made their way to the comm room. When they reached the door; it swished open for them, Sam motioned her arms for Liara to go ahead. "Ladies first." She said through a slight smile. Liara replied with her own sultry smile, brushing her hidden fingertips across the top of Shepard's thigh. The spectres breathe caught in her chest when she felt the asari doctor touch her, but she quickly locked her business face back on. She waited for Liara to take her usual seat before collectively greeting the ground team. "Right then people…" Sam paused briefly when she noted the empty chair… Ashley's empty chair. The commander lifted her steely gaze to Kaidan, who blushed slightly in response. "Where's the chief?" Her voice was devoid of emotion, shocking Liara slightly.

"I…Uh… she said that she didn't want to come… Ashley didn't say anything more than that; I'm afraid." Kaidans voice was slightly hesitant. He respected the commander, hell somewhere along the line he had fallen head over heels in love with her and even though the feeling wasn't mutual; it was still there. He felt his skin prickle under the woman's intense green gaze.

Shepard offered a slow nod. "We all have to work together here; you should probably go and fetch her." Kaidans heart skipped a beat. He had heard of what happened between the spectre and the chief, but he hated getting in between the two strong minded women. It was like walking through a mind-field; when he spoke to Ashley, one slip… one wrong word and boom. Sam on the other hand, seemed to be handling what happened quite well. The lieutenant had also heard the "rumours" that after Ash and himself had calmed Liara down that day, the chief had gotten a little hot-headed and deliberately sought Shepard out. Once she had found the spectre; Williams verbally assaulted her, doing the same with Tali, too. Some people aboard the ship whispered about it being a xenophobic attack, but the jury was still out on that for the lieutenant. He would never have imagined that Ashley would actually attack a team-mate over racial differences… then again, that's what people were saying.

Kaidan slapped himself internally. How could he listen to rumours? Though he had witnessed Ashley's xenophobia first hand. When Dr. T'soni had spoken during the debrief; after Noveria, the chief had practically told the young asari to pipe down. He felt a sudden guilty stab in his gut. It still wasn't right; the way that Shepard had attacked her, but at least it was not without reason. He felt another guilty stab in the pit of his stomach.

"Sure that's wise Shepard? The human is pacing around so much down there; that the floor is starting to wear out." Wrex butted in with his rumbly voice. The commander let out a tired sigh. Wrex was right, it probably was not a good idea, but at the end of the day, this was a critical mission and they all had to work together, whether they liked it or not.

"I'm not saying its great idea, Wrex, We need all the people we can get on this mission, however, we are still docked at the citadel so if she really can't work with me; then she can always leave. Now, can you go fetch her lieutenant." Kaidan nodded… confidently this time, however. Sam was right, if Ash didn't like it; she could always leave. He didn't like the idea of his friend leaving, but it was a fair point. Once Kaidan had sped out of the room, Shepard picked up a loose data-pad and began examining it, after which she turned to Garrus. "How's the mako doing, Garrus?" Shepard smiled when she saw the turians mandibles flare slightly, followed by a small bark of laughter from the krogan battle master.

Garrus looked over to the krogan nervously, readjusting in his seat afterwards. "Well-" He started confidently, but he was cut off by an unusually jovial Wrex.

"Let's just say: more of it sits in the spare parts box, than on the docking bay floor..." Garrus scowled at Wrex, provoking more laughter from the old krogan. Shepard couldn't help but smile at the pair. They always acted like they didn't get along, but deep down they did.

"Yes well! If you spent more time actually passing me the tools that I ask for; as opposed to using them to pick the meat out of your teeth, we may well get somewhere!" Wrex and Sam burst into laughter with Garrus' remark. "It's true! I ask for a wrench and I end up getting a half of yesterday's dinner back. Seriously Wrex, stick to being a mercenary…" Shepard and Wrex chortled again, this time more at Garrus annoyance than anything else. The sudden swish of the door drew all of the room's attention –save for Sam, who was still focusing upon her data-pad. There stood a rather irritated looking Ashley and behind her a slightly embarrassed Kaidan.

"Did you need me for something, commander?" Shepard never looked up from the data-pad, her eyes focusing hard upon its contents. She motioned the stylus in her left hand; to one of the three empty seats on her right. Ashley responded with a quick shrug, still unmoving. Kaidan on the other hand; slipped past her, claiming his normal seat back.

"Chief?" Ashley crossed her arms of her chest defiantly, wincing slightly when she caught a sore spot. Sam finally took her eyes off of the data-pad, standing straight at her full, intimidating height. "There a problem here?" The smaller woman scoffed at the commander's voice.

"A problem _here? _No… the problem is you!" Ash pointed an accusing finger in Sam's direction. The spectre didn't even flinch; she only raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Chief, you're not in high school now; you don't get to pick and choose who you like and who you don't. As your commander; I gave you an _order. _Follow it and stay or disobey and go… it's your choice?" Liara observed silently, noting the emotionless tone of her lovers voice, also noticing the constant flexing of her jaw and the faint red glow of her head wound. She knew Samantha was angry… she was just hiding it exceptionally well.

"What? You are giving me a choice to stay or go? Even after you attempted to batter the crap out of me?" Shepard gritted her teeth, inhaling a deep breath as she nodded once. Again, the chief just scoffed. She flicked her hand in Sam direction, in an effort to diminish the spectres order. "I'm not comfortable being around you right now commander! Now if you'll excuse m-" She quickly turned to leave the room.

"Chief!" Shepard slowly strode up to the smaller woman, glaring at her underneath furrowed brows. "For god sake… sit. I _am not_ asking you to take the helm here, all I want you do is to _sit down _and listen for a few minutes." Joker –who was secretly listening in over the comm- could sense the sarcasm in Shepard's words. The pilot could not help but chuckle.

"_Finally _someone acknowledges how hard my job is…" He muttered; in between drags on his straw, relishing the taste of the grape soda as it tingled against his tongue.

Ashley sighed heavily and shrugged before trudging over to the spare seat, plopping herself ungracefully into it. Shepard let out her own exasperated sigh as she turned slowly on her heel; to face the gunnery chief. "Are we going to have to open a crèche downstairs?" Ashley furrowed her brows at the question, not quite grasping the spectres line of thought.

The chief leaned forward on her chair, an elbow resting upon each of her lower thighs.

"Quit acting like a child…" Sam spoke in a sigh.

"_Pffft!"_ Everyone looked up to the ceiling in search for the mystery noise; which was shortly joined by a hushed string of curse words and a few distant –obviously female- giggles in the background. _**'Joker…' **_He thought. The lieutenant ducked his head slightly; in an avid attempt to stem the smile that threated to break out upon his –usually collected- face. Liara also picked up on this and she followed Alenko's example, lowering her head to hide her smile.

Back in the cockpit, Joker was using his hat to dry out the soda that he had spat onto his shirt following Shepard's witty comment. _**'I've taught her well…' **_The pilot boasted internally. He paused momentarily; realising that most of the comm room occupants had just heard him, but it was too worth it, to hear the stoic "Commander Shepard" make a quip.

Sam bit her bottom lip to hide her own laugher, keeping her "steely" gaze fixed upon the comm room door, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. Kaidan looked back up; just in time to see the commander's lower lip tremble and her brows furrow… hard. He had to stop himself from laughing; he just had to. Quickly, the lieutenant turned his head to the side, focusing upon Ashley. Of course, that just made thing worse. The chief –though still semi angry- was also hiding her smile. Kaidan could not believe how much chaos one man could cause.

Liara was also having a hard time with keeping her own amusement under wraps. She was managing perfectly well until she looked up to her lover. The asari also saw the trembling lower lip as well as the furrowed brows. She was just about ready to let her laughter out, but before she could the door swished open, revealing a very peeved looking Mikhailovich.

The rear admiral stood in parade rest stance on the edge of the middle circle. His agitated gaze bore down upon Shepard, as if he was silently commanding her to speak. The spectre swallowed the lump in her throat with a small cough. "Okay, back to business. Our first agenda… well _only _agenda-" A small chuckle came unexpectedly from Tali, who quickly covered it up with a false sneeze.

"Uh… sorry… dust." Sam swiftly turned her back to Mikhailovich, biting hard on the middle of her index finger to halt the on-coming laughter. _**'Damnit! Why are we laughing, it wasn't even that funny?' **_Sam thought.

The rear admiral cleared his own throat before stepping into the centre of the comm room. "I thought the suit protected you from dust?" Shepard's eyes went wider causing her to bite her finger with renewed purpose.

"Not always." Tali almost sing-songed. The spectre let out a shaky breath of air, effectively drawing Mikhailovich's attention away from the young quarian and towards herself.

"Is everything alright, commander?" Sam took once last bite on her finger; before turning on her heel to face the inquisitive elderly man.

"Uhm… yes…" She coughed; putting a clenched fist to her mouth, as she tried to dispel any more of the laughter that she had bubbling up. "Dust." She finished with a light shrug, everyone in the room hid their smiles –with the exception of Tali, who right now; had it lucky- The rear admirals brows knitted together with mild disbelief, but he rolled with it anyway. "Okay so today's agenda…" Sam scrolled down the data-pads contents with the stylus; she had no idea why, however, she already knew what they were here about. "Admiral Hackett has asked us to assist in a mission… from the sounds of it; it could be a very dangerous one to." That instantly sobered everyone from their amused states, Shepard included. "An unknown dreadnaught in the Hawking Eta system has gone dark; the Admiral wants us to explore this further. So far two teams have been told to explore it further and both have vanished. He also told me that the readings are either coming back distorted or this is something that we have never dealt with before. Either way; it doesn't sound good." Shepard scrolled down the data-pad some more, looking for anything she may have missed. "I'm going to take all of you with me, so be ready. Any questions?" When no hands were raised; Sam quickly moved on. "Okay then, were done here. Dismissed." One by one, the crew members filed out of the door, leaving Shepard and the rear admiral behind. "Is there something that you require, rear admiral?" Her voice was calm and cool now, a sharp comparison to the laughter filled one she had to fight to keep under control a few moments earlier.

"No commander, just making sure everything is up to scratch." Sam noted the slight air of smugness in the elder gent's voice, she didn't like it, but what could she do? The spectre gave a slow nod; before making her way out of the room.

* * *

Liara was sat at Shepard's desk examining the used food tube between her slender blue digits. She had noticed that Sam had entered the room, but she kept her focus upon the tube in her hands.

The spectre took to half sitting-half leaning upon the desk where Liara was seated. She also noticed the far off look in the asari's eyes as she continued to fiddle with the brown and silver tube. "You okay?" Shepard's voice was soft, almost soothing. She crossed her arms over her chest, her piercing olive-green gaze studying the scientists face.

There was a short delay before Liara answered. She shook her head slightly to clear her concern fogged mind. She could not help but feel worried about Shepard. This… tube; hardly looked like it could contain anything pleasant, but Sam seemed to soldier on. The archaeologist let out a thoughtful sigh as she rotated in the office chair to face the commander's concerned green gaze.

"Hmm?" She still kept the tube between her fingers, fiddling with it, but she no longer took notice of it. Her attentions were now focused upon the woman of her concerns.

"What's up? You look a little… lost." Sam gently tugged the empty tube out of Liara's light grasp. "It's not about this is it?" An odd sense of dread filled Shepard's heart and mind. She was tired of all the worrying. The spectre had not yet come to hate it; she just wished that people… her crew mates; would stop treating her differently because of her "condition" least of all Liara.

"I know I should not, but I do." Liara took Sam's empty hand, intertwining their fingers together. "I worry about you." Concerned pale blue eyes met slightly angered olive green ones. The spectre immediately looked away, unable to face the brunt of Liara's heartfelt confession.

"You needn't." She found something "interesting" to stare at upon the far wall, anything was better than looking the asari in the eyes right now.

When Liara realised what game the commander was playing; she quickly got her feet. She softly pressed her palm to Shepard's cheek, turning the woman so that she would have nowhere else _to _look. "Samantha, I. Do. Worry. I have to because you are ignoring the issue, hoping that by not admitting that it exists; it will go away." The archaeologist leaned in closer, pressing her forehead against Sam's own.

Shepard's gaze fell to the floor. She hated to admit it –even to herself- but Liara was in fact right. The day would come eventually, when she would have to tell her family… her mother and father. Sam cringed at the thought of that. Her grandmother to, the elder woman prided herself on two things work and her cooking. It felt wrong to even think about telling her grandmother that she couldn't have that anymore. With a sigh, Shepard flicked her eyes back to Liara and swiftly back down again.

"Talk to me Shepard…" The soft voice wisped through her ears. Somewhere –very deep down- she wanted to talk, but another part of her brain was ordering her to _run. _The spectre mentally chided herself for that. She thought that after the long, demanding and arduous sessions of therapy that Chakwas, Anderson and… She shivered a little with the thought of the last name. The _bitch _doctor who had gotten her drunk and taken advantage of her state, subsequently trapping her emotionally. But she still believed -or hoped- that after all of the time that she had spent _"Talking" _about her issues with Chakwas; it would have at least resolved _something. _

"Samantha, what is on your mind?" Although Liara's voice was still delicate, Shepard could hear the demanding tone beneath. Sam would be damned if she told the asari what was genuinely on her mind, but the fact was; that incident had been dogging her for years. She had never seen Dr. Carter again after she had transferred to the SSV Lagos and to be honest; she was glad that she hadn't. "Shepard?" The spectre shook her head once; to clear any of the thoughts that had been troubling her, but they were stubborn.

"It's nothing, Liara. I'm fine." The asari breathed an irritated sigh, her brows furrowing slightly as she did so.

"No. You are not fine. What about this!" Liara picked the empty tube back up, poking it into Sam's chest. Shepard could not help the anger that had begun to free flow around her veins, but it wasn't directed at Liara; no, it was directed at her _stupid _illness, the same _stupid _illness that had just ruined her entire life.

"What about this?" Sam snatched the tube from Liara's hand and biotically launched towards the far wall, embedding it into the metal. "_This!_" She jabbed the wound on her head roughly, her fingers scratching the still damaged skin there. "_This_ has ruined my life. I _have _to get my food from a tube! And it's not as if it even tastes good, no… it doesn't! But what other options do I have? I either accept them or I die! So what Liara? What do _I_ need to talk to you about?" Sam's voice cracked a little, her eyes glazing over slightly. "The… the only good thing I… I have is… you… and… I was so wrapped up with my own life that… I nearly lost_ you_…" The last sentence came out a little more than a hoarse whisper. The spectre slouched as she finished speaking, rare sobs wracking her body as her fingers dug into the table's under-surface, so much so that her knuckles had turned white.

Liara quickly stepped forward; cradling Shepard's currently hung head in her arms and holding her close to her chest. Sam continued to silently sob, the only indication that she was crying at all was the occasional spasm of her usually strong body. Although it did not seem like it now, this was healthy. Liara knew well; that bottling up your emotions would only cause harm later on. In all truth though, the asari had bumped into Chakwas before she had entered Shepard's cabin. The doctor told her of how reluctant Samantha was when she was presented with one of the tubes. She also told her of how she threatened to fetch Liara herself if Shepard didn't take it then and there. This worried Liara… and somehow she knew it worried Dr. Chakwas to.

"I'm sorry…" The husky apology bought Liara out of her reverie. Gently, she loosened her grip around Samantha, pulling away ever-so-slightly so that she could see the commanders face. "Everything is different now… but I'll get used to it." Liara could not help but smile at the way Shepard would put a brave face on all that had happened. "I'm sorry for burdening you with all this, it's my problem; not yours."

"Sam, your problems _are_ my problems. I am almost certain that this will affect the both of us; somewhere in the future, but we will work through it _together._ Am I understood, commander?" Sam nodded solemnly, Liara hated to see the spectre like this, all vulnerable and lost, but as she had said earlier: they would both work through this… _together_. "I take it; that it was not the best experience?"

Shepard snorted and looked up to the asari, the scleras of her eyes blood shot. Liara's heart paused for a moment as she took in the sight. She had not been around humans for all that long and she still had trouble coming to terms with the human blood colour. The deep red was so vibrant in comparison to the asari's bluish violet coloured blood. "No… it wasn't. It tasted gross and being forced to chow down on it hardly helped matters." Liara snorted softly as she observed Sam's mini-grimace; which caused Shepard to chuckle to.

"Gross, Hmm?" The spectre could sense the teasing tone within the scientist's voice.

Sam gave a single, confidant nod before getting to her feet. "Yes; gross. Two words I never thought would come together were: 'artificial beef' what's up with that?" She said with a shrug. The commander strolled over to where the tube had been welded against the wall. With one weak attempt to peel it off; she gave up. Liara silently observed with one cocked eyebrow and when Shepard noticed her looking; she gave another shrug. "What? It adds character!" The spectre explained in mock defence.

"Pfft… Adds character! Shepard, the only thing you actually own in this room is this!" Liara picked up a small, battered wooden cylinder off of Sam's bedside table, twiddling it between her slender blue digits as she examined the foreign object. "What is this mysterious device anyway?" Sam had to stifle the laugh that wanted out. She stepped over to the perplexed asari, gently prying the "Mysterious device" from her grip.

"This, my love…" Shepard paused as she slipped her index finger through a small hoop of yellow twine. "Is what we humans call… a yo-yo." Sam looked back up to Liara with a cute lop-sided smile.

"A… yo-yo?" Liara's voice was hesitant, which made Shepard chuckle. The archaeologist took the rough wooden cylinder into the palm of her hand as she began examining it once more. This "toy" was very important to Sam. It had been a gift from a very, very dear friend from her childhood, a friend that she hadn't seen since she joined the Alliance… a friend that Shepard sadly doubted; she would ever see again.

The yo-yo was made from the small branch of a tree. Over the years the rough bark had become darker, but the inner wood still remained a dull orange colour. As worn as it was; Shepard refused to let this go, it was the only link she had from that one friend and she would treasure forever. On one side of the yo-yo –within the dull orange circle- was a small –but deep- carving. It spelt the initials: D.W. The carved out initials had been painted in an orangey, yellow colour… Sam's favourite colour.

"D.W?" Liara queried haphazardly, not taking her inquisitive gaze off of the object. "What does that mean?" A trickle of pain ran through Shepard's heart. It wasn't anything bad, but some days when it all got too much; she just wished she had her best friend to talk to.

"Uhh… It's a long story, really." Liara sensed the hesitation in her lover's voice and decided not to push the issue.

"So, what does one do with a… yo-yo?" Sam took hold of the object in her one hand and gently released it. The asari looked on in awe as the yo-yo fell and quickly wound back up. How was this working? "This does not make sense!" Liara's voice held a depth of fascination, one that Sam could not ignore.

"I'm sure there is a hell of a lot of physics behind it, but it's more fun not to know." The smiling spectre slipped her finger out from the yellow twine, before looking back to the curious archaeologist. "Here, give it a whirl." Sam did not give Liara any time to protest –not that she would have- the Commander slipped the twine over the soft blue digit. With an encouraging nod, Liara followed in Sam's example. The yo-yo gently slipped from her grasp, spinning around the twine before zipping back up into her grasp. Shepard chortled to herself as she observed, gaining her another curious glance from her lover. "It's more fun than it looks, right?" Liara shrugged before releasing the wooden cylinder once more, reveling in the sensation as it fell and rose.

Liara was quite enjoying herself, but then she looked over to Shepard; who wore that smug look upon her face. Quickly she took the yo-yo off of her finger, playfully thrusting it into Sam's hands. "No… it is ridiculous." The spectre laughed aloud when the archaeologist visibly pouted.

With great care, the Commander placed the toy back onto the bedside table, after which; she turned back to the still pouting asari. "Aww, what's the matter? Has the Serrice educated _Doctor_ of Xenoarchaeology; been stumped by a _yo-yo?_" Shepard pulled the doctor into a tender embrace, her thumb soothing the asari's back. "There, there… I understand your plight. I myself have faced the same dilemma." Liara looked up to the Commander, her eyebrow cocked in anticipation. "Mind you… I was ten years old at the time, but my point remains." The scientist quickly pulled away from Sam's and playfully punched her on the shoulder.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Liara looked back up to the taller woman, her pale blue eyes searching light olive green ones. "How did you know all of that about me?" She wasn't mad… simply curious.

"Well, there was that time when we had to pull you out of a collapsing ruin." Liara gave a blank look, which prodded Samantha to continue. "At the time, you were just "The daughter of Saren's accomplice" We had to do our research before we came to collect you. For all we knew; you could have been on the offensive…" The archaeologist nodded in agreement with the Commanders words. "But if it's all the same to you… I'm glad you weren't; because when the elevator got us up to that compartment you were 'locked' in, I had… _the _greatestview…" Again, the asari gave a blank look, which was actually what the spectre was hoping for on this occasion. Sam craned her neck to the side slightly, giving her a better look at the archaeologist's backside.

"Ohh! I see…" Shepard chortled under her breath when she saw the extraordinarily beautiful grape violet blush; course into the asari's soft cheeks. "Well, that was also the faithful day when I discovered these." Liara ran her fingertips over Sam's strong biceps.

"Ahh… you _liked_ them did you?" Without warning, Shepard lifted the asari up the same way she had in the ruins; one hand cradling Liara's head and neck, her other forearm resting comfortably behind the archaeologist's knees. Liara let out a small –but adorable - squeal. Sam pressed their foreheads together, before pulling the asari into a smouldering kiss that transcended both of their universes. When the reluctantly broke apart; they were left breathless, not breathless enough to stop Sam's next declaration, however. "Best day of my life." Liara heart fluttered wildly as she listened to Shepard's now husky voice pour wonderfully into her hearing canal. "I love you… too much for words, Liara. I want to show you just how much you mean to me, but I am going to wait until the time is… _perfect…"_ The archaeologist's heart melted as she heard Sam's declaration. In what universe did she do something to deserve such treatment? All pampered and cared for. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought another person –never mind the first human spectre- would _need_ her. "I hope that's okay with you?" The genuine concern in the Commanders voice made Liara feel as though she was falling in love with her all over again.

In all honesty, Liara had been ready to fully meld with the human since before Ilos, but then again… that probably would not have been the best time. She did share a brief moment with Sam before Joker called her away to speak with Captain –now councillor- Anderson. '_I am going to wait until the time is… perfect…' _The spectre's words reverberated within her mind, sending wonderful shivers down her spine. Liara could not help but become slightly giddy with anticipation. _'When would be a perfect time?' _She asked herself wistfully. As long as Shepard was there, it would certainly be perfect.

Liara nodded contently, relishing in the feel of Sam's arm's wrapped around her. Shepard was surprized at how light the asari was. Of course; when she had lifted her up the first time she was filled with adrenalin and her suits exo-skeleton helped, but now it didn't seem like it helped much… Liara was as light as a feather.

Shepard flashed her pearly white smile, before pulling the asari into another gentle kiss.

"Do you not have a mission to prepare for?" Liara breathed into Sam's ear. It took the spectre a few minutes to realise where she was, but it came to her.

"Hmm… you're right. I should go and prepare everyone." Sam gave the asari a quick peck upon the cheek before powering out the exit. When the door swished shut, Liara crossed her arms over her chest, a single eyebrow cocked as she watched the door. After a few seconds the door whipped back open; revealing a smiling Shepard. The commander reached forward; taking Liara's hand into her own and tugging her out of the cabin. "Knew I forgot something…" The archaeologist heard Shepard mutter as they briskly walked to the elevator.

* * *

"Commander! E.T.A: ten minutes." Joker stated as the entirety of the ground team stood behind him in the cockpit. Shepard gave a solitary nod before she turned back to the crew.

Ashley –who was now in business mode- spoke up for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime. "Plans skipper?" Sam was not sure whether or not she was reading too much into it, but the fact that Ash had just called her "skipper" instead of Commander; had to be a good sign, right?

"Try to keep this clean. If that plan goes to hell, stay in contact. We have next to _no _idea what we mind in here, so stay close. Keep Tali and Garrus safe, the power is down in that ship; so we need their tech skills to unlock the doors."

Tali nodded as she began fiddling with her omni-tool, the familiar soft orange glow, lighting the currently dark cockpit a little. "Is that clear?" There was a series of "Yes Commanders" and a gentle nod from the asari scientist.

"Commander, docking procedures complete. You're free to head out. The dreadnaughts readings suggest that it is safe to go in without helmets, but there are some odd gas signatures emanating from out of there. I suggest keeping them at the ready." Joker never took his eyes off the various readings before him and Sam knew better that to second guess the "best damn helmsman in the Alliance fleet."

"Sure think, Joker. Open her up." Shepard gave the Normandy's tough metal door a thump, after which, it slid open revealing the decontamination chamber.

"Good luck, Shepard." Joker sing-songed before the door hissed shut and the next door slid open. The team was greeted by a humid, but foul stench. From the battle on Elysium, Shepard instantly recalled the smell burning flesh. It made her want to gag, but she fought that impulse away by pressing her armoured forearm against her nostrils, the other teammates following by her example.

"Jesus…" Sam growled quietly. "Joker wasn't kidding about the gas thing." She heard Garrus chuckled under his breath.

"What is that smell?" Kaidan asked in a hushed voice. "It's worse than Feros in here… and I almost died there." Ashley patted him on the back, a comforting gesture as the small group headed down the dark, dank corridor. As they neared a small intersection, they became at a bit of a loss as to which junction to take.

Shepard rubbed her forearm of her brow, dragging most of the sweat away with it. "Damn, it's too hot in here." Her mind was lagging slightly, fighting to keep her at the right temperature; which was proven near-on impossible whilst wearing armour.

Shepard tapped the comm link in her ear, channelling the pilot through. "Joker? Is there any way to tell where we are headed?" There were a few minutes of tense silence before his voice waffled back.

"No Commander. The power is out, blocking our scanners from taking their ships blueprints. You're in the dark I'm afraid." Sam snorted before she shut the comm back down.

"Yeah… literally and figuratively." Her eyes scanned both of the dark passages the only light down the one came from the occasional flicker of an abandoned omni-tool. Sam brain suddenly clicked. "Tali! Your omni-tool!" The spectre gently grabbed the quarians arm, turning the omni tool back on; its faint orange glow dimly filling the room.

"What's going on, Shepard?" Tali's voice wasn't the littlest bit angry or irritated, just curious. A sudden thin beam of white light burst forth from Tali's omni-tool, lighting the room partially as well as one ofthe two hall ways. "Ah! Oh… why didn't I think of that?" Tali's voice held the same sarcastic note that Sam had come to enjoy.

Shepard did not say much else; she simply patted the quarians bicep. "Now… the intersection dilemma." Sam put her hands being her neck as she surveyed the passages. Both of them were dark, but one had a flicking light. Both were caked in dry, but sticky patches of what appeared to be oil. "Any ideas?" Her tone was surprisingly relaxed, which was odd considering the fact that it had to have been over thirty degrees Celsius where they currently stood and that foul odour hung in the air horribly.

"I would suggest splitting up, but we are uneven." Ashley chimed in, surprising the spectre slightly.

Sam nodded, obviously following the chiefs train of thought. "A sound idea, but as you said: we are uneven, we can't split up." Ashley nodded this time, agreeing with the commander completely.

"I say we take the left corridor." Wrex stated in as quieter a voice as was possible.

"I say we take the right." Sam countered with a sly smile. Wrex chortled under his breath, knowing that he was most likely defeated. "Thoughts?" Without hesitation the small group of multi-species warriors turned to Shepard.

"Right corridor." Ashley agreed. Followed by Kaidans reaction.

"The right passage is where we should head." Tali nodded enthusiastically, finding herself in agreement with the other two human marines.

"I will follow you, Commander." Liara spoke softly with a solitary nod.

"I find myself in agreeing with the rest of you. The right passage seems more… friendly and there is that one ligh-" Shepard put a hand up, stopping the turian in his tracks.

"Garrus… at this point I do not really require a speech. Yay or nay?" The ex C-sec investigator wrung his hands anxiously, a little shy about having this many eyes fixed solely upon him and his opinion. Plus: Yay or Nay? Which meant what? He decided to take a swing at it.

"I… uh…err… yay..?" He asked with a shrug. He let go of a breath he didn't realise he was holding in; when Shepard smiled, patting him upon the shoulder.

As the group proceeded down the passageway; the heat began to get more and more intense, even Wrex was breaking into a sweat. The halfway point –or so they thought- the flickering light above decided to die, plunging the team into partial darkness once more. With another brainwave, Sam held her palm out to the side; feeling the familiar sensation of dark energy coursing through her body, tingling the skin around her fingertips. The room came aglow with a cyan colour, lighting the room more effectively than Tali omni-tool.

Liara turned to face her heart's desire, an adorable mock pout playing upon her perfect blue lips. "Why did I not think of that?" Sam and the rest of the team quietly chuckled at Liara's repetition of Tali's earlier words. At the moment however Liara stayed her biotics; as did Kaidan and Wrex. The light emanating from their commanders palm was enough for now. The group can to a gentle halt when they reached a large white room –white aside from the many, many blood spatters around- Kaidan put the back of his hand over his mouth; hoping to stem the bile that he felt rising.

"What happened here?" Garrus whispered, his duo-toned voice somehow still managing to remain smooth and cool.

The heat was still rising, though Sam had stopped feeling it some time ago, the internal shock and adrenalin keeping her body under control. "Someone… or something attacked this place, that's for sure." Sam twisted her hand around; shining light in the darkened corners of the room. As she did so; there was an inhuman -or any other known species- screech.

Shepard growled something inaudible as she slowly pointed her sniper rifle in the deafening noises general direction. "What was that?" She whispered, her eyes never leaving the darkened corner across the room from where they stood.

"Didn't sound like anything I've ever heard…" Wrex spoke, still in a hushed tone. Tali stepped slightly closer to the krogan warlord, softly bumping into his huge elbow. Instead of brushing the startled quarian off however; he simply slid one of his thick digits into the crook of her arm, gently tugging her closer.

Liara and Shepard shared a sideways glance with one another, not fully knowing what the other wanted to do. That fact worried Liara greatly. She knew Shepard was planning something… she had that deranged glint in her eye.

"Whatever it was; we need to know, we can't just stand here forever." Shepard muttered confidently, only scaring the asari more. Ashley nodded in agreement with the spectre. They came here for a reason, whatever that thing was; would just have to wait in the queue of problems they had to deal with already.

Sam took a few cautious steps forward. She clutched her sniper rifle like it was glued to the palms of her hands. She set her jaw; fully expecting the worst. With one more sideways glance behind her, she ignited her biotics; the familiar cyan glow lighting up the room. The spectre visibly stiffened when the new found light let her see what was going on.

The spectre obstructed their collective view, but they all saw the way that her entire body tensed up. Whatever it was… wasn't good. Without warning Sam stepped aside, letting them see what was going on. Instead on first looking to whatever it was that she was supposed to look at, Liara stared at her commander. Shepard's skin had dramatically paled; dark eyebrows knitted tightly together, her mouth pulled into a harsh frown. The asari saw Sam's eyes flicker through a mixture of rare emotions: fear being one of the more prominent upon that list. A sharp gasp and a hoarse gag brought Liara back to the matter at hand. Ashley doubled over, resting the palms of her hands upon her knees as she dry heaved. The archaeologist looked over to Kaidan; who had the back of his hand pressed over his mouth, his eyes wide with shock and… fear…

Liara looked back to where Shepard stood, almost like a statue. Her pale blue eyes followed the spectres line of sight. The asari slapped the palm of her azure hand over her mouth as she observed the mystery creature feed off the body of what appeared to be a dead scientist. It's large, fleshly black mandibles jabbing at the clammy grey skin, spattering blood dark red blood everywhere with each movement. Liara stifled a gasp when she realised that its "prey" was human, not that it would have been any better if it were any other species, but humans resembled the asari the most in outward appearance and it was a very, very gory sight indeed.

Shepard pulled came out of her shocked trance, her angry green eyes settling upon the _thing_. It was unlike anything she had been in contact with before, an enigma. The creature lifted its fleshy head; its skin was like black leather; only it was sleek… and slippery. Sam's jaw clenched down tightly, so tightly in fact; that Liara could hear the spectres teeth grinding together. The creatures dead white eyes examined Shepard's form, its head tilting to the side like that of a curious dog.

Shepard tried to keep the bile from rising within her as she realised that the face was distinctly human… or asari, but its leathery head looked more like a humans. It had no irises just the creamy white sclera… not even a pupil. It's sinewy upper mandibles twitched up and down, the lower ones sticking in their place. A spindly pink tongue slid out from behind its many, many shark like teeth, licking some of the spattered blood off of one of the lower mandibles. One of the creatures –what could only be described as huge talons- tapped forward. Sam cringed internally. It looked like a human/spider hybrid and she wasn't a big spider fan. The first talon was slowly followed by another hesitant one, pulling the beast's mangled body forward with it. Sam took a slow step backwards, not liking the way that it was eying her up… like she was its next meal.

As the creature readied its next step, Shepard's grip upon her sniper rifles trigger tightened. When the sharp talon tapped against the metal floor, Sam fired the sniper rifle; blowing the beast back against the far wall with a dull, wet thud. Its spindly talons twitched briefly as it screeched and whimpered, before inevitably dying. A thick, dark purple liquid began oozing out of one of its huge gaping wound, pooling upon the floor where the half-eaten human scientist lay.

Sam let out a shaky breath, as she felt Liara wrap her slender blue arms around her neck, pulling the reluctant spectre into an embrace. It took Sam a while to respond, but eventually she wrapped her own strong arms around the asari, burying her face into the crook of the asari's neck.

When Hackett had said _"Whatever is aboard that ship… we have never seen before." _She thought that maybe it was just a huge team of slavers or pirates, perhaps even both, but this… never something like this. Liara ran her thumb up and down soothingly against the back of the spectres neck. "It's okay, Sam… you are okay…" her voice was as soothing as her touch.

"Maybe I shouldn't have shot it." Shepard's voice was partly muffled by Liara's shoulder, but not muffled enough to stop the rest of the group from hearing her whine.

"Skipper, I don't mean to eavesdrop, but had you not taken it out it then and there; you probably would have been some creatures chow right now. You did the right thing." Sam nodded mutely, but she didn't agree. It was not her way. Shoot first, ask questions later, that was the amateur way of doing things… though Ashley had a fair point. It is better to act swiftly and survive then to not act and die.

Slowly, Sam pulled away from Liara. Fiddling with her gun instead of looking into the shocked eyes of her comrades. "We best get moving." The commander paused mid-turn and turned back around to face the approaching time. "Ash, can you give your assault rifle to Kaidan and use your… uh… boomstick?" At first the young chief was confused by the order, but she obeyed nevertheless. "And Liara, use this instead of that." Shepard passed her famed mattock assault rifle to the asari.

"Why do we have to use these, Commander? Uh… if you don't mind me asking, ma'am." The lieutenant asked cautiously as he bounced the surprisingly light assault rifle in his hands. Sam tinkered with the ammo setting on the barrel of her sniper rifle, before answering back.

"I have the oddest feeling that we'll find something bigger in there. I don't want either of you caught off guard. Understand?" Both Liara and Kaidan nodded understandingly. If either of them –or both of them- came face to mangled face with one of those things, at least they would have a chance.

"Let's head out… look for survivors, if that is even possible. Everyone, set your weapons to fire cryo ammo. That might teach these bastards a lesson or two." Sam said smugly.

* * *

A/N: Sorry to end it here, but I am getting a bit too close to my unofficial word limit. I hope y'all enjoyed what I've got down so far. Sorry about any grammar mistake or… whatever, apologies if you do find any… which you're almost bound to. And again sorry if anyone has been waiting for this. Life is kind of hectic right now what with L.A Noire taking up most of my time and all. But if you would be so kind to bear with me; I'd appreciate it.

Another A/N: When you think of the mysterious creatures and the atmosphere of the dreadnaught, think Dead Space 2. For the creatures, think necromorphs, only these creatures have jet black skin and are smarter… and any other details that I may have changed in the above. If you have no idea what Dead Space 2 Is, or what a necromorph is: Google it… simple as or better yet buy the game! It's awesome! Anyway, thanks for sticking with me people, I appreciate it… very much so in fact. :D Till next time, dudes and dudettes!

Yet another A/N: The scene involving the yo-yo was inspired by a fantastic little one-shot; written by tankgirly. If you haven't read it; I suggest you do… Joker/Liara. XD Love it!


	11. The End Of The Beginning

**Mass Effect: An Epic Tale: Chapter 11.**

Peewit22

Okay, okay, okay… well hello again guys! Really great to see you again; after _all_ this time. Before we get started, I just want to shout out to all my dawgs out there: Thank you for the ever-so-kind reviews, you've really helped me along. Truly, you guys have.

YoungTruthLP – A constant muse, you really are. Thank you for your praise. I appreciate it so, so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you! *Hive Five* Thanks for shouting me out in your excellent story by the way! If anyone out there hasn't read it yet, check it out. It got lots awesome FemShep/Miranda cuteness in it.

Toxiclove17 and trekker1982 – You guys rule, you really, really do! By reviewing you have gotten me to move marginally faster, which I applaud you both _and_ YoungTruthLP for. You are all brilliant!

On with the show, shall we? *Offers arm* :D

**Edit note: Sorry if anyone recieved an update notification, but a helpful reviewer pointed out a misspelling and it needed imediate attention, again... apologies. Rest assured however, chapter 12 is already half-done and will be posted shortly. Thanks for your help Dalish Elf! You rule! :D**

* * *

The small group walked through the large, blood stained room with a slow pace. Everyone in the team kept their eyes everywhere, making sure that there were no more of those awful creatures lurking around. Shepard however; kept her steely gaze fixed upon the door way ahead of them, her eyebrows furrowed in anger, the wound on her head glowing with a blood red colour. When they reached the next doorway; there was another junction. This time however, she decided to take a left; guiding the small band of fighters into the darkness once more.

As they proceeded further and further down into the darkness; the automatic lighting above them flickered on –and to their collective surprise, it stayed on- The new found light revealed a long pane of glass along the wall to their left, giving them a clear view of what appeared to be a laboratory. "What the hell…" Sam trailed off as she cautiously approached the window. When she reached it; she pressed the palm of her armoured hand against the cool glass before leaning in to get a better look.

Within the lab there were about a dozen or so; humans, all of which had been restrained against the guard rails around their beds. They all looked healthy… pale but otherwise healthy, then again; Shepard was no doctor. "Why are these people in here? And how come they haven't been found yet?" Ashley shook her head slowly and shrugged her shoulders in response to Sam's questions, her eyes never shifting from the restrained humans.

"Didn't the Alliance patrol scan for any life signs?" The young chief asked the commander.

"Yeah… funny thing is; they said they didn't find a soul. No life signs, no anything." Shepard's eyes flicked from one still body to another. From this distance she could not tell whether or not they were breathing or not.

"You don't suppose they are dead, do you?" Ashley voiced the spectres thoughts aloud, her own chocolate brown eyes shifting to the side to observe the commanders reaction.

"Only one way to find out…" Shepard said with a sigh and a shrug. Away from the groups gaze; Liara gently took hold of her commanders hand; giving it a reassuring squeeze. Sam reached for the doors keypad dabbing her finger lightly against the sensitive device. The doors slid open vertically, the odd sensation of cold air instantly beating against Shepard's face. She wouldn't say that it was an unpleasant feeling, just highly unexpected. What with it being thirty degrees or above everywhere else they had explored thus far.

"It's freezing in here!" Kaidan stated quietly, but happily; obviously revealing in the chilled air against his clammy skin.

Sam never took her eyes of the humans that lay upon the gurneys; that stretched across the long wall opposite the window.

"Did you bring a sweater this time, as per mom's orders?" Ashley quipped. The group laughed at the joke, Liara included. Though; her smile faded away as she looked over to she Shepard's un-amused expression. It wasn't that Sam did not find it funny, but she was focusing wholly upon the restrained humans.

That is why the group was caught off guard when she did finally pipe up. "Maybe you should check your boots for snow." The spectre dead panned just as she cautiously reached one of the many human's bedsides. They group chuckled for a few minutes before settling back into serious mode… or semi-serious mode.

"I believe Lieutenant Alenko just got burned." Tali stated proudly, provoking Williams and Kaidan to giggle once more.

Liara stepped up to Shepard's side; her eyes roaming over the human males near naked form –save for the strip of red fabric that covered his southerly areas- After examining the man's body; she turned her gaze back up to her lovers face. The scar on her forehead was glowing a bright blood red colour and her jaw was clenching more times a minute than she could count. The asari lifted her hand, resting it upon Samantha's own. "Be calm my love…" she cooed quietly into the spectres ear. She could not however, the sight of this was hitting her somewhere deep inside, a _somewhere_ she didn't even know she possessed.

Her eyes slowly flicked over to the other gurneys. The people upon them… they were all male, short platinum blonde hair, clean shaven and pale; nearly snow white skin, but their veins were all dark purple in hue… very abnormal. There was something wrong here and Sam knew it. These men almost looked albino, if they were: why did the people who had done this; specifically choose them? The commander gave Liara a glance before she stepped closer to the man's head. She reached out two fingers and pressed them too his pulse point. After a few seconds; she looked back to the rest of the team; who were waiting eagerly behind her. "Nothing…" She stated weakly with a shake of her head. Liara opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. "Check the others." Sam's voice was stern now… '_Determined_' Liara thought.

After a good ten minutes, the team concluded that all of the people in the room were dead –much to Sam's chagrin- "_Damnit!" _The spectre spat as she slammed her armoured knuckles into the gurneys cold steel surface. "Move out! We don't have a chance of finding anyone _alive _in this room." Sam growled. Liara could hear the sheer anger in her lover's voice, but right now she could do nothing for her.

The group travelled further down one of the dark corridors, the only sound that could be heard was Wrex's "quiet" footsteps. The team came to yet another junction, but this time there was no light to guide them… they would have to pick; solely upon gut feelings, unless anyone had any better suggestions.

"Which way, commander?" Garrus' hushed voice cut through the air. Sam's biotics flared up on one hand lighting one of the corridors up. Tali followed suit, lighting the other with her omni-tools flashlight. To the commander; they both looked the same –save for ones cyan glow, courtesy of her biotics- "I say left, but that's just a hunch."

Shepard flashed a brief smile to Garrus who chuckled slightly in return. "And you were C-sec so your hunches are probably worth their weight in eezo, right?" Garrus chuckled harder at that.

"Ah… I'm not sure I'd say that, but yeah. Top my class, so…" He shrugged modestly, but Sam could see the pride behind his sky-blue eyes.

"Precisely my point! However… I suggest we split up." Ash saw Liara turn a paler shade of blue. Garrus seemed to agree with her suggestion though. "I know were are in odd numbers, but having Wrex on your side is like having two, maybe three humans." Garrus nodded again, which was starting to vex Liara slightly. They were in a highly dangerous situation; splitting up would only make things worse.

"I agree with you Shepard. Splitting up means that we can cover more ground." The turian stated happily.

"Everyone else agree with that?" Shepard asked with a cocked eyebrow. The team responded with a series of "Yes ma'am's" All except for Liara of course. Ashley was reluctant –having seen the distressed look upon the asari doctor's face- but it was not her place to say anything, they were all on the same team here and they had to follow orders.

"Okay then, it's settled. Garrus, Kaidan; you're with me. Tali, Ash, Liara, Wrex; take the left corridor, we'll take right. Move out!" Liara's jaw dropped. She was about to protest, but before she could say a word; Ashley gently grabbed her bicep and began guiding her down the left corridor. The asari looked back just in time to catch Sam looking unusually jovial; as she gave Garrus a playful punch to the shoulder.

"Don't worry Liara; they know what they're doing." Ashley's voice was soothing, like a balm to the asari's suddenly frayed nerves.

"It is not_ them _that I worry about." The asari mused aloud. The chief gave her friend a pat upon the back. She could not recall the exact amount of times Shepard would run off into a fight. It scared the crap out of her every time the commander did it, but she was the commander… a spectre; she knew more about survival than anybody aboard the Normandy, save for Wrex of course.

"I know… I know… Come on, if we don't pick up our pace soon; Tali and Wrex will disappear without us." Liara nodded weakly, her feet picking up to match Ashley's hurried footsteps.

* * *

"Kaidan you douche! Garrus said left!" The older lieutenant picked up upon the teasing tone underlining the Shepard's voice, so he decided to hit back with his best "Puppy dog pout." The small group were attempting to pick up piece of debris that had blocked their pathway. "Oh… Don't even think about using that face on-" Before she could finish her sentence he had already done it. Alenko hopped out of the way when a biotically propelled rag skimmed past the top of his head.

"Okay you two, lift on three." Garrus chuckled at the easy going comradery between the three of them. "Wait, wait, wait!" Kaidan and Sam looked back over to the turian; who stood hands on hips. "You two are biotics, why can't you just lift this?" The human's looked at one another bashfully a slight blush making its way up Kaidans cheeks.

"That we are, pretty boy." Sam said through a bright smile. Garrus pointed his talons at Shepard as if they were pistols and clacked his tongue, imitating a firing sound.

"I knew you couldn't resist my good looks." The turian teased. The three of them laughed hard, but made sure they kept their voices down. Kaidan laughed so hard in fact; that he nearly doubled over.

"Okay, okay. We need to lift this thing up." The two men composed themselves before Sam and Kaidan could begin lifting the hunk of metal. "On three, Alenko. You ready?" The lieutenant cracked his knuckles, after which; he gave a thumbs up. "Okay then, Garrus?"

The young turian cleared his throat theatrically; provoking faint giggles from the humans. "One… Two… Three." The metal cuboid was suddenly surrounded by a glowing mixture of cyan blue and ultramarine. Garrus watched in awe as the metal block thudded back into a comfortable upright position. The turian race rarely housed biotics and when they did; they were usually enlisted into the specialist teams otherwise known as the Cabals.

"There we go. The path is clear, we are free and easy." The three of them paused as the light above them flickered on lighting the room fully. "The block must have knocked something back into…" Sam paused when she noticed that the "block" was actually a cabinet of some description and it was… bleeding… quite profusely; in fact.

"What..? Is that blood?" Kaidan followed Shepard closely as she paced back over toward the cabinet.

"Kaidan, pass me that rag will you?" The dark haired male passed the white cloth that Sam had threw at him earlier on; back to her. He watched intently as she dabbed the corner of the fabric over one of the thick red torrents. After a small pause for examination it was confirmed to be human blood. "Yeah, it is." She folded the cloth back over and slipped it in to one of the small compartments on her armours bicep.

"Should we open it up?" Sam could sense the hesitation in Garrus' voice and she didn't blame him. The blood literally poured out from the joint between the doors.

"I think so, Garrus." She took a gently hold of the cabinets thick metal handles and after a brief moment of contemplation the spectre yanked them open. A couple of thin test tubes fell out and shattered against the ground, the blood within them pooling together. Shepard looked back up to the open cabinet; examining the various thin test tubes with in them. There was shelf after shelf, rack after rack each one full of either: broken test tubes or full ones. "What the hell happened aboard this ship?" Kaidan came up to her side; unknowingly he leaned in closer; his shoulder brushing gently across Sam's bicep. The pair didn't take heed of their proximity however; instead, they kept their focus upon the various vials before them.

"Candidates one to one-hundred?" Kaidan muttered; his voice full of suspicion. There was more going on here, first that… _monster_, then the restrained humans, now this? What were these people trying to achieve and more importantly: Who were _these_ _people?_

Shepard looked over to the male biotic, her eyes full of question. She turned back to look into the cabinet. "Candidates one-hundred to two-hundred. Two-hundred to three-hundred. Three-hundred to four-hundred. How many are there?" Kaidan –still unknowingly- leaned in closer, his strong jaw resting just next to the spectres ear. His finger pointed at a bloodied metal sign, similar to the ones they had previously examined.

"Nine-hundred to one-thousand…" Garrus read off of the small metal card. "You don't think that they are all human, do you?" Sam's brows furrowed as did Kaidans. They hadn't thought about it really, but Garrus did pose a good question. Shepard went to take a step back, but bumped into the dark haired lieutenant's shoulder.

"Sorry, Alenko." Sam turned away from the handsome man before he could catch her blushing. _'Why are you blushing, you moron?' _The spectre mentally chided herself. This was not the time or the place to entertain such thoughts about the slightly older man. In fact; it would never be the right time to entertain such thoughts. _'Liara! Liara! Liara!' _She let out a small sigh of relief. Just the thought of hurting Liara again like she had before with Jack; was like having an ice cold bucket of water thrown into her face, ice cubes and all. She could not deny that Kaidan was a very, very, very- _'Stop it!' _He _was_ handsome, but Liara was beautiful; both inside and out. Plus she loved the asari with all of her being, every last fibre of it. The terrible thing was; the closer she grew to Liara the more these kinds of feelings for others would crop up. Once upon a time; Chakwas had said that these types of things are to be expected from one who fears commitment, but Sam wasn't that woman anymore, was she? No, she _loved _Liara with all her heart and she would not fail her this time, not now; not ever.

"No problem, commander." Kaidan responded happily with a nod.

"Okay, I'm going to contact Ashley and the others. Keep watch, we don't want to get caught off guard by anything." The two men nodded. Garrus turned to face the rest of the corridor, his watchful eyes scanning the area to make sure that their location was safe. Kaidan on the other hand was positively dazed. How had he gotten that close to Sam without being pushed away? He didn't mean to come off as creepy… or at least he hoped not. The spectre smelt great; even though it was near boiling in here. His head was swimming, her warmth, her scent, her soft hair brushing against his jaw… her Liara… his heart stung and sank. Why had she picked Liara? He could give Sam the same as she could! Support, stability; even marriage and a family. _Especially _marriage and a family… a _real _human child. He slapped himself internally for thinking such things. If Liara and Shepard ever decided to have a family; the child would be asari, but Kaidan had a feeling Sam knew this. At the end of it all however, it came down to love. Shepard loved Liara and that was that. It pained him to admit it; even to himself, but it was true. So why the hell couldn't he get over her?

"Shepard to Williams." After a small five second delay, Ashley's voice crackled into life.

"Commander? Is everything okay on your side?" Shepard gave the blood filled cabinet a side-long glance before replying back.

"Yeah, nothing that can't be fixed, anyway. What about your side? Everyone good?" Sam could here Ashley confer with the larger group, before answering back.

"Yeah… we are all good. We've come across some disturbing things though." Shepard gritted her teeth, hoping that Liara was okay.

"We have to. What did you find?"

"Uhm… well aside from a cabinet containing blood samples from candidates one to one-thousand, there have been a few dead bodies around. Some of which had the same purple blood coming out of them as did that creature you killed back in the other chamber."

"Jesus Christ!" Kaidan shouted from his position. Shepard didn't turn her comm piece off as she turned to see what was going on. Just as she turned a bullet fired.

"Shepard! A little help here!" Garrus shouted in between blasts from his assault rifle. Sam pulled her sniper rifle from off of her back and pointed the barrel down the lengthy corridor. She checked her scope, before firing off a shot.

"That one hit!" Garrus exclaimed cockily as the creature's dark purple blood spattered across Shepard's armoured forearm. "Sorry commander, it had to be done." Shepard swore she saw the turian equivalent of a grin, but she didn't have time to question it; as one of the beasts lunged forward, pinning her to the ground with its sharp talons.

"Damnit!" Shepard tried to pry her arms free, but the more she struggled the harder the ugly beast dug its talons in. She felt a sudden –and incredibly sharp- scratching/pinching sensation upon the skin just beneath her ear. As the sensation ebbed away; it was replaced by a painful burn within her veins. Sam couldn't be sure whether the feeling was hot or cold, all she knew was that it hurt… a lot. With one more final burst of energy, the spectre lifted her boot, pressing it firmly against the beast's "midsection" and with a firm kick; the creature was sent careening into the far wall, hitting it with a dull thud.

The sound of rapid gunfire faded in and out as she used a nearby wall to help herself up, only to have Garrus grab her and finish the job himself. "Shepard… are you okay?" The commander clenched her jaw tightly as she tried to fight the burning pain that seemed to have affected her entire being.

"Yes." She replied tersely through a still clenched jaw. She briskly motioned her hand in a military fashion that seemed to get the worried turian and a rather confused Kaidan moving forward. "I'll watch the rear." Garrus was reluctant to agree at first, but the murderous look in her eyes scared him forward.

When Shepard was sure that she wasn't being watched; she reached an armoured hand up to her neck. She was still unsure as to what happened: one minute she was being tackled to the floor, the next; her whole body lit up with a stinging, insistent pain. She blindly searched her neck for any obvious wounds or protuberances, but there was nothing. So why in the name of god, was she struggling to keep her footing? Her body felt like it was on fire, yet she felt cold. She could see the sweat upon Kaidans brow; so it must've been as hot as it was earlier. Her mind was clouding up, quickly. What was happening?

Silently, the commander grasped the wall for support. She pulled her other hand away from its search upon her neck. Her glove was covered with the familiar dark purple –almost black- ooze, sticky upon her armoured digits… almost like blood. Another round of white-hot pain speared through her body, from head to toe and then back up again. Her grip unconsciously tightened against the wall as she drew a quiet, but sharp breath in between her teeth. The spectre summoned what energy she could to walk on, she wasn't walking as fast as she usually did, but Garrus and Kaidan wouldn't notice, surely?

The group reached a set of doors, one leading diagonally left the other the same, but leading right. Kaidan reached the doors first; waiting patiently as Garrus and Shepard walked towards him. As the pair came closer he noticed the pained expression upon his leaders face as well as the unusual pallor of her skin. He took a step towards her examining her face as her got closer.

"Commander, are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost." He also saw the odd dark purple hued veins that had started to appear underneath her nearly transparent skin.

She offered nothing more than an icy glare and a stern nod of the head. Kaidan –and Garrus- knew that something wasn't right with her; they just did not know what. As they all stepped up to the identical doors, Shepard tapped her fist onto the right one. When the two men looked to one another with worried expressions –Or what was assumed to be a worried expression in Garrus' case- Sam offered a small explanation. "It might lead us back to the others." They both nodded with understanding, or semi understanding. If something was wrong with the spectre; she would most likely tell Dr. T'soni first.

"I shall contact them." Garrus stated, continuing with his actions once the commander nodded with her approval. Garrus walked away from the two humans so he could make the call, perhaps he could even warn them or Shepard's apparent state, maybe they would help her in some way.

"Shepard, what's wrong? You look like death. Did something happe-" Kaidan started, but was immediately cut off when the spectres fingertips stopped an inch away from his lips. She had taken to leaning her shoulder against the wall, her breaths coming in deep and slow. "Please commander! You need help!" He tried pleading with her, but he was jerked back against the other door; her forearm to his throat.

"I don't need _help. _If I wanted _help_, I would have asked for _help. _Am I understood, lieutenant?" Sam's growled; her voice gravelly and filled with obvious pain. For her benefit; Kaidan nodded. He would not drop this so easily, but if she was in pain; she needed to relax and holding him against the wall wasn't what he would call "relaxing." Not for either of them to be honest.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." She wheezed, before setting back to her first position against the far wall.

Garrus waited impatiently for Williams to receive his call. Every now and again he would cast a glance back to the Sam. Her skin was becoming more pale by the second; the veins under her skin were becoming more and more prominent, even more so now that they had turned that nasty shade of purple. He could tell by her demeanour that she was in pain, but he could still not work out how –or even; when- anything had happened to her. The turian tried to recall the events that had lead them here, but pieces were missing. The adrenalin from the battle obviously blurring out seeing her getting pulled to the ground. A strong female voice on the other end greeted him immediately, starting him out of his reverie.

"Shepard?" Her voice sounded confused as she spoke.

The name reminded him to look back and he did; only to see Sam catch Alenko by the throat with her arm, pinning him against the opposite wall. He took a step closer to the pair, but paused when he replied back to Ashley. "No… it's me: Garrus. What's your location?" He put on an air of confidence, but the spectres behaviour was _really _beginning to concern him.

"Most of the power has come back on this side, now. I'll send you the coordinates." There was a brief pause; followed by the faint bleeping of buttons. "It's done. We'll wait here for you guys."

"Okay… thanks Chief." Garrus stated half-heartedly, his real attention still focused upon Shepard; who had now taken back to her original position.

"Garrus, is everything good on your side? Why didn't Shepard make the call; instead of you?" Her voice was half curiosity; half concern. Garrus looked away from the commander; just in time to avoid her sharp glare.

"I… uhh… It's hard to explain. We will see you shortly." Before she could say another word; he disengaged. The turian turned on his heel and powered towards the pair of humans. "I've got their coordinates. According to this they are practically behind this door." Garrus tapped his omni-tool a few times before the orange device dissolved away. He looked up to the commander, his eyes catching hers. Garrus tried not to recoil when he saw them. The veins in the scleras had gone dark purple; almost black, leaving only a little bit of white in between the once thin vessels. He swallowed hard, trying to stifle the surprised growl he was ready to let out. Her face was very; very pale making the veins underneath stand out more visibly than any other feature upon her face… eyes included.

"Good," She croaked hoarsely as she pushed her unsteady body off of the door frame. "Let's open her up." It was becoming a major struggle to breathe properly now, let alone speak. Sam was aware that her body was beginning to fail her, but for the sake of the others; she hoped to keep it to herself. But then again, she hadn't looked into a mirror lately.

Garrus tapped a few dials on the front of the door, after which, he repeated upon his omni-tool. The doors split vertically with a light hiss. Garrus stepped into the dark corridor first, unsure as to why the power was still off in there. Just to be on the safe side; he unclipped his assault rifle and turned on its mini flashlight. Garrus shone the light into all corners of the room, examining each with a keen eye. He would hate for another attack like the one they suffered through earlier. Once the ex C-sec investigator was sure that they were free and clear; he motioned his gun for the two humans to go ahead, but he kept his eye upon Sam –who seemed to be favouring her left side. He also noticed the slight snarl upon her face as she pushed away from the wall.

Sam unclipped her pistol and held it in her left hand –she was unsure if her right side even worked anymore- Her left arm was her strongest arm, seeing as she was left handed, which was lucky for her. The recoil off of the pistol would have likely broken her wrist if used with her weaker hand. She once again noticed that Garrus was giving her that look… that concerned look, but right at this moment; she was in too much pain to care.

The small team reached a similar door on the opposite wall, here; Garrus repeated his earlier actions and Shepard and Kaidan simply waited for him to finish. As she once more took to leaning against the wall, the spectre noticed the lack of dark energy that she usually felt buzzing deep within her veins. Weakly, she tried to summon her abilities, yet she received nothing but a slight fizzle underneath her armoured fingertips. It was probably because she was weakened right now, but still… she did need her talents. Kaidan noticed how Sam's brows were furrowed sharply and wanted nothing more than to step forward and to ask her what was wrong, but by doing that however; he would most likely end up getting fed to the next bunch of those creatures that they would inevitably come across. Instead; he held his tongue, silently observing her as she looked angrily upon her hand. The lieutenant had also noticed the odd colouring within her eyes, but just like before: If he planned to keep his life, he would keep his mouth sealed.

Exactly like before the doors hissed open, revealing a small group of mismatched beings. Wrex was sat upon a crate, talking shop with Tali, whereas; Liara and Ashley were leant against a nearby wall. Again to Garrus surprise; the lights were out, providing zero visibility with the large, hot corridor. The turian made sure that he went in first, just in case they were faced-off by another horde of… things. He knew that if such a scenario arose, Shepard would not be able to keep them at bay, not in her current state anyway.

"Commander." Ashley greeted chirpily. In the dim light she was unable to see a lot, Shepard's face included. "Did you find anything else on your side?" Sam swallowed thickly before answering. She also took a step behind herself, pressing her back firmly against the metal wall for support. Ashley noticed the hesitation, but she didn't speak a word. The chief remembered Vakarians words vividly and she dreaded to think that something had gone wrong with Sam. Even with all the hate that had been floating around between them; she would hate to see the commander hurt… or worse.

"No." She replied hoarsely. She swallowed thickly again, trying to choke down the sticky saliva that was beginning to interfere with what little she could speak. "Just the vials of blood." She coughed wheezily at the end of her sentence, grimacing at the odd, yet familiar blood-like tang in her mouth.

Although Liara could not see Sam; she knew something was wrong. The spectre… her love, was speaking in terse sentences. This was not her style of doing things, it never had been. To the asari doctor; it sounded like she was in pain, but being unable to see anything meant that she would be unable to tell what was wrong until they found a strong source of light.

"Come on. Let's move up." The spectre said in the form of a sigh. She pried her heavy, tired body away from the wall and limped slightly down the long, winding passageway. Liara gently pushed past Wrex and Tali; coming side to side with Sam.

"Are you okay?" The doctor whispered to her lover.

The commander coughed, the blood in her throat beginning to clog her airway. "Fine." Liara didn't believe it though. Though she could not actually see her love, she knew just by the delayed wheeze within her breathing; that something was amiss. The asari decided to take advantage of the pitch black. She reached down to where she knew Shepard's right hand would be and took it into her own, but she became confused when the spectres digits did not tighten or even try to grip her hand back, it just felt limp.

"Samantha?" Liara's voice was only loud enough for Shepard to hear.

In the darkness, the human turned her head –hurting her neck and then some- she grimaced at the pain that shot down from the large vein beneath her ear, but she kept her calm… for Liara's sake. "What's up?" She tried to keep her voice soft and… well… normal, but pain practically dripped from everything she said and the asari archaeologist knew it.

"What is wrong with your hand?"

Sam furrowed her brows; not quite understanding what Liara was getting at. Of course the whole of her right arm had gone numb; perhaps that was what she was hinting at. "Hmm?" It was becoming harder and harder to speak by the minute. Sam was starting to feel tired.

Liara tested her point by giving the spectres hand a gentle squeeze. Sam hissed harshly with pain. Liara's soft squeeze had sent shockwaves of pain up her arm and through her shoulder. It almost felt as though she could feel every nerve in her body respond to the pain and it knocked what little air she had left in her; back out. Her shoulder thudded against the wall as she tried to catch her breath back. Liara and Ashley were instantly at the commander's side, Liara's arm wrapped around Sam's shoulders, Ashley hand pressed between the commander's armoured shoulder blades.

"Shepard?" Liara pushed the woman of her heart down; so she would sit on the corner of a nearby crate. She knelt down in front of Sam, her hands resting upon the humans knees. Ashley stayed standing, but she rested a hand upon the spectres shoulder. "What has happened to her?" The asari demanded from both Garrus and Kaidan, knowing full well that whatever caused Sam so much discomfort must have happened during the time they were separated.

Garrus sighed gruffly from somewhere in the darkness and took a step forward, his omni-tool lighting up his face with a familiar dim orange glow. He fiddled with a few dials, before lighting half the room with his built-in flashlight. Tali shortly followed suit, bathing the rest of the room in her own light. Liara –who was still looking at Garrus- nodded her thanks, but still waited for an explanation. Garrus –and by extension: Kaidan- both furrowed their brows, or brow plates in the turians case. Kaidan simply pointed a shaking digit to his pale commander; drawing everyone's attention away from himself and Garrus; and turning it towards the weary spectre.

All three of the multi-species women gasped in horror as they saw Sam's transparent skin, the dark, veiny eyes as well and the sharply coloured veins beneath her face. "Goddess…" Liara raised a hand to Shepard's cheek, but when Sam grimaced in pain at the touch; she withdrew it. Garrus could see Liara's jaw flex in anger as well as her brows knitting tightly together. _"What. Happened?"_ She seethed, her once gentle, but know rage filled gaze returning to himself and Kaidan.

Kaidan chose now to speak up, though he had next to no idea what to say. "I… I honestly don't know. We were walking through the passageway, and then we came across this… this big metal filling cabinet; filled with tiny vials of blood. Me and Shepard used our biotics to lift it up, after that; we checked it and that's where we found all of the blood… human blood. Then we were attacked by more of those creatures and one of them lunged at…" Kaidan cut his sentence short with a gasp. He lifted a fist up to his mouth to stifle another. His eyes went as wide as saucers as they flicked rapidly from Garrus to Liara.

"By the spirits!" Garrus exclaimed, finally catching on to Alenko's line of thought. "One of them caught her, pulled her down, but she kicked it off." The turian stepped towards Shepard; recalling where he had seen one of its talons. He steeped past Liara and used one of his tick digits to brush some off her hair away from the side of her neck. Upon the thick, dark purple vein there was small, but deep cut and out of it oozed a horrid thick black fluid. Liara covered her mouth to stop a sob from escaping.

"I can't believe I didn't notice before. She looked so ill and I did nothing!" Garrus whined. Kaidan came up to stand behind him; he placed a hand upon the turians shoulder and hung his head.

"_We_ did nothing…"

"Yes, but a least _you_ tried to get her to speak!" Garrus argued back, his voice like venom.

"And_ I_ was scolded for it!"

Ashley pushed in between the two arguing men, her hands shushing them. "This isn't really the right time to be fighting. We need to get Shepard back to the Norma-"

"No!" Shepard coughed, giving everyone a start.

Ash furrowed her brows as she took the spot next to Shepard upon the large storage crate. "Skipper… you don't look so fresh, we _have _to go back." Ashley pleaded with the weak commander. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the deep laceration just above her jugular. It looked horrific and then there was the dark fluid which would occasionally pump out from it.

"No, I told Admiral Hackett that I'd get this done. I'm not walking away now!" Sam tried to stand up, but Liara delicately pushed her back down.

Liara placed her finger underneath Shepard's chin, softly forcing her to look into her pale blue eyes. "Shepard, we _are _going back to the Normandy. You look like…" The asari paused, not really ready to finish that sentence. She swallowed down the lump in her throat and continued. "… You look like death." Sam blinked slowly, she knew going back was the right thing to do, yet a voice in her head was practically screaming at her; telling her to get up and move on.

She unknowingly shook her head. It felt like she was losing control of her own body. "Who's the commander here?" She felt a horrible pang of guilt within her when she saw Liara flinch away from her harsh remark. "I… I'm sorry, I… know your just trying to help, but we have to get this done." Ashley stood by for support as Shepard got to her feet. Liara on the other hand; was reluctant to allow Sam to just run back into the fray. The colour of her skin was to pale for any species; human included.

The small group proceeded down the long passageway; following Shepard with a surprisingly fast pace. When they reached the "T" shaped end of it, Sam swore that she heard a clatter. She suddenly paused; almost forcing Tali to bump into the back of her. She lifted her left hand up in military fashion, telling the group to stop. The spectre turned her head to face Liara. "Did you hear that?" Her voice was a hoarse whisper that even the asari struggled to hear.

She looked at Shepard with a quizzical expression, but a sudden loud noise drew her attention straight ahead. "No, but I heard that." She whispered back to her lover. The tinny sounds of footsteps ebbed into life and it grew closer, until an asari came around the corner. The asari recoiled with a jump when she spotted the well-armed, multi-species group.

"I… uhh… how did you get here? And more to the point: who are you?" She stood; hands on hips as she waited for anyone's reply. Ashley looked over to Shepard, who in turn looked back at her. Sam took it upon herself as the commander to come forward and speak –even if she was having a hard time with it.

"I'm Shepard, Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. We were sent here to help." Sam coughed at the end of her greeting, feeling nauseous with the unfamiliar tang that was left behind. She swallowed it back down with a wheezy breath and looked back up to the woman.

"A human Spectre? Wow… I really did miss a lot," The sky blue asari mused aloud. When she noticed the crowd of confused expressions; she decided to elaborate. "I've been aboard this ship for… let's say…a year and a half. But that was before all of this started happening. No, this all started three weeks ago." Sam cocked her head slightly at the announcement.

"You've been stuck on here for _three weeks?" _Ashley asked for Shepard. The woman nodded, an odd smile upon her face.

"Absolutely. It isn't as if there aren't any resources aboard, we _are_ aboard a dreadnaught after all." The asari was far too chirpy for Sam's liking, but perhaps she was just feeling grouchy. "Are you okay?" She asked the commander in a soft sympathetic tone.

"Yes… I'm fi-"

Liara took a step forward, placing herself in front of the slightly hunched spectre. "No you are not!" Her voice contained nothing but worry and Sam felt it. She hated to put Liara through so much stress, but if they left the derelict dreadnaught now; she knew she wouldn't come back.

"Liara… listen, I'm fine. It looks worse than it is." Sam protested, but Liara saw right through her brave front. The asari scientist took another step toward her love and placed her hands softly upon the spectres unbelievably warm shoulders.

Liara nearly recoiled when Sam looked directly at her, the commanders eyes were almost like that of a Drell's, only with the odd patch of white and the bright green of her irises.

"Maybe she can help?" Ash interrupted them, before pacing over to the lost looking asari.

She looked even more bewildered when Williams threw an arm over her shoulder, guiding her nearer to the human spectre and the asari. "Maybe if I knew what was going on?" Ash patted the woman's back and pointed towards Shepard who was being talked to by Liara.

"She was attacked by one of those… things. You know about them, right?"

"I… uhm… Oh! Yes, right! _Those_ 'things' yes I know plenty of them." The sky blue asari chimed in happily, recoiling slightly when Ashley's brows furrowed. "Oh, no! I didn't mean to say that I know them personally, I just meant…" She sighed at the chief's unchanging expression. "I know _of _them." She cleared up.

Ash nodded, her frown turning into a pleased expression. Maybe there was hope to be found yet. "Yes, right… well, the Commander was caught off guard by one of them… and then this started happening." Ash inclined her head towards the spectre; who was still being talked to by Liara.

"Ah, I see. How long ago did this occur, exactly?" She asked hesitantly.

Ash shrugged. She was at a loss. The chief hadn't been there when the incident had occurred, she could roughly guess, but that probably wouldn't do much good. "You'd have to ask Garrus or Kaidan about that; if you're looking for a precise time, best I can guess is… half an hour ago, give or take."

"Oh dear…" The asari muttered under her breath.

"Did you say something?"

The asari snapped out of her daze and shook her head. "No… no I did not. I should go and look at your friend." Before she could walk away however, Ashley held out her hand.

"I'm chief Williams, but call me Ash." The asari looked over the humans hand hesitantly, before reaching out her own bright blue one to connect them.

"Thank you… Ash," She tested the name on her tongue with a ghost of a smile. "I am Dr. Alana Sanis, but call me whatever you think appropriate." Ashley smiled and cocked her eyebrow just as Alana turned away to examine the commander. _'Another asari Doctor? I suppose that works…' _She thought meekly. Ever since Liara had joined; the chief had begun to learn more about the asari –as well as the other races- and had discovered that they were not without similarities. _'Jerks and saints.' _Ash recalled as she glanced at a pale-faced Kaidan. She knew it had nothing to do with him being ill. He cared –a little too much at times- for the spectre and seeing her like this had to have taken its toll, the same went for Liara to; if not even more so.

"Ah spectre…" Dr. Sanis paused as she got closer to Sam and began seeing the extent of the creature's assault. "Oh spectre!" She corrected before gently pushing past Liara, couching down so she could examine Shepard's face with deft blue fingertips. Sam growled softly when one of said fingertips traced lightly around the dark gash. "Sorry about this." She apologized in a caring tone. She used two of her fingers to separate the cut, causing Shepard a horrible amount of pain.

"Fuck…" Sam ground out between tightly clenched teeth. She buried her face in the doctor's shoulder –as it was the only thing stopping her from screaming in pain. Liara felt a sudden, and unwelcome, bolt of jealousy course through her. Ever since Sam had told her about what had happened after she had swiftly departed the Normandy that terrible day, Liara had sensed this possessiveness towards the commander; claim her. She did not like it and she tried to stop it, but she couldn't. Liara knew that Shepard had a hard time saying no. Even when they were on missions she would help anyone who asked for it, no matter how busy they were. Liara just did not realise that that extended into her personal life to. She had also seen the way that Kaidan looked at her, even after the spectre had told him that she only had feelings for Liara alone. It also did not help matters that Sam was a shameless flirt, Liara had even come to the conclusion that Shepard did not even realise she was doing it most of the time; if not _all_ of the time.

Even though Sam still had her face buried in the Asari's shoulder, Liara could sense the pain radiating from her love. Taking the initiative; she stepped forward and took her spectres hand onto her own, this time however; she felt it and lifted her head up just enough so that she could see the beautiful archaeologist. "Hurts… all over…" Liara bit down on her lower lip as she tried to stall the oncoming wave of sadness. Seeing such a strong person in so much pain had affected Liara in a way she didn't even think existed.

"I know, I know." The asari archaeologist soothed.

"I haven't seen the venom do anything like this before." Alana muttered to herself… or so she thought.

Ash made her way back over to where the three people were sat –or crouched in Sanis' case- "Venom? Wait you knew about this before?" Her voice was bordering on anger, but she kept in in check for the commander's sake. The last thing she needed to be doing now was teaching Ash to keep her mouth sealed.

"Obviously I did, I have been aboard this vessel since before this all started to happen. Tell me chief, do you think these creatures simply appeared here. No, they did not. They are mutations of their former selves." There was an air of upset in the asari's voice, but Ashley still felt unsure.

By now the whole group had semi-circled around the doctor, Liara and Shepard. "Mutations of their former selves? So… they weren't always like this?" Kaidan sounded disbelieving, mistrusting. Ash nodded with his words; indicating the sky blue asari to answer his query.

"Well… I… they…" She swallowed hard as Liara got to her feet towering above her; her biotics wisping around her balled up fists.

"What. Do. You. Know. Answer him." Liara ground out angrily.

Alana swallowed loudly once more as she wrung her gloved hands together. "They used to be human." Liara's jaw visibly tightened and it took all of her willpower not to throw the other asari across the room. Ashley and Kaidan on the other hand were positively stunned.

Ash opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her gaze drifted over to the hunched up commander. "What happened to them?" Alana could sense the hesitation within the Chiefs voice and she did not blame her, none of this was pretty and now one of her friends had been afflicted.

"I shouldn't really say more when we are out in the open like this. My lab is just up that hallway. It is safe and I can examine the spectre more clearly in there." Sanis' voice pleaded them to move. It would not be long before the creatures would return and she didn't want to think about that.

No one noticed, but Sam steadily got to her feet and patted Liara upon the back. "Let's move." She croaked. Alana was shocked at the sheer amount of strength that this spectre was able to summon. When this had happened to the other subjects they had been crippled with pain, resorting to writhing around within their restraints.

As they pressed on through the corridor; there was another loud clatter, followed by a blood curdling screech. Sam was already ahead of the group; so when she heard the screech she held up her hand, putting those behind her on pause. "Skipper, we've got this." Ash protested, but Shepard shushed her back down with a simple hand movement.

"Shepard, I have to agree with the Chie-" Liara tried, yet she was also cut off by another gesture.

Sam cautiously turned around to face the scared doctor. "Do you think they know we're here?" She wheezed. The asari started shaking her head, after which, she swallowed thickly.

"I… uhh… I do not think that they are as intelligent as they were as humans, but there senses seemed to have doubled. Long story short: It is probable." Sanis stated nervously, her hazel eyes never focusing upon one point within the room for longer than a few seconds.

Shepard tried to sigh, but it just came out as a dry wheezing sound. A sound that made Liara cringe. It sounded terribly painful and it seemed to be worsening. "Okay, where's your lab?" Alana pointed up the corridor.

"A few more doors up here." Sam nodded; content with that answer. The small group briskly made their way up to the door; letting out a collective sigh of relief as the door slammed shut behind them. Sam slumped against the sealed metal door with a dull thud and slid down until she touched the floor.

"Can you tell us about the situation now, or not?" She asked Alana tersely. Liara was immediately at the commander's side upon the cold floor. She took the spectres armoured digits and intertwined them with her own.

Sanis sighed before turning back to face the ill human. She ran her hand over her sky blue face and nodded. "Yes, I suppose I shall. But I should take some of your blood first, that way I can analyse it as we speak."

Sam sighed this time; before nodding once with her consent. She popped her glove off so that her wrist was open to the warm air. The doctor bit her lower lip as she examined the wrist, gently twisting and turning it in between her fingers. "This will hurt more than if we took it from further up, you know this, right?" Sam nodded.

"Hmm-mm. Right now I couldn't care less." Alana nodded and rested the tip of the needle over the slightly raised artery. She spared Shepard one last look before pushing it through. Liara saw Sam's jaw flex, but the spectre kept her cool. The archaeologist looked back down at the syringe and was taken aback by the dark purple –almost black- fluid that had begun trickling into the plastic tube.

"That should do it!" She slid the needle back out from the artery and instantly placed a cotton bud over the small wound. "Would you hold that?" Dr. Sanis asked Liara as she gently handed her the commander's clammy arm. "Keep the pressure on there for five minutes or more." Liara nodded and applied pressure to her thumb.

Alana jumped up and quickly dived into the task of analysing the odd blood, leaving Liara and Shepard in an eerie silence. "Liara?" Sam asked softly, but hoarsely. The beautiful asari felt her heart breaking. She had nearly lost Samantha after the battle of the citadel and she wasn't about to go through that again… not like this.

"Yes, Shepard?" Liara lifted her spare hand and gently caressed Sam's scarred temple, the clammy skin felt alien underneath her touch a sensation that felt wrong. This should not be happening to Shepard, she was to strong… to brave.

Sam –with great effort- lifted her other hand, gently taking Liara's hand from her cheek, giving it a reassuring –but weak- squeeze. "You know I love you, right?" Liara saw the ghost of a smile wisp over the commander's features; before returning to its normal, pained scowl.

The asari scientist gave Sam's hand a soft squeeze. "Yes… just as I love you." The smile appeared again, but vanished before Liara could properly admire it.

"Liara… I will always love you… always, but I'm…"

"No." She stopped the commander with her own authority. She knew what Sam was going to say and she did not want to hear it. Shepard was not about to die, of course not. "You will not leave us… you cannot leave me." Liara gripped Sam's hand a little tighter, before pulling it up to her chest, placing it over her heart. "I… I need you."

"Trust me, Liara; I need you more than you need me. You're strong, both physically and mentally. You're compassionate, caring and _nothing_ in this entire galaxy is as beautiful as you are… both inside and out." Liara unknowingly squeezed Sam's hand a little tighter, but the feeling in that arm had faded a while ago. "I love you now and I always will, but don't feel obliged to think the same about me." The archaeologist let out a choked sob as she lifted Sam's hand to her face and kissed it.

"It's a bit late for that. From the moment you strutted into that ruin, I had fallen for you." Liara said with a wistful smile. Why couldn't they just go back to that time and start over?

Sam let out a wheeze of a laugh. "Strutted, eh?" She smiled, but Liara was having a difficult time doing the same thing. The sound of every wheeze that followed a delayed breath caught Liara like a dozen knives. The poor asari felt the awful tears trickle down her beautiful blue cheeks. "Hey?" Shepard gently pried her other hand away from Liara's grip, knowing full well that the bleeding should have stopped by now. She lifted the slightly stronger arm and placed a thumb against the asari scientist's cheek, stemming the flow of delicate tears in their tracks.

Liara raised her hand and cupped Sam's larger one, bringing it around to cup her face. "I cannot lose you Samantha. I love you too much to let you go." Sam locked her currently dark eyes with Liara's pale blue ones, but with every passing minute it became harder to breath and increasingly harder to keep her eyes open.

"I know… I don't want to… but…" The grip the Sam had upon Liara's hand began slack and her body slumped even further into the wall, her neck dropping down.

"No! No, no, no! You can't… Shepard!" Liara pulled the spectre toward herself; cradling her limp body against her chest.

Ashley and the rest of the team who had silently observed for the last few minutes; quickly got to their feet –Wrex included- "Dr. Sanis? Little help!" Ash pointed ferociously at her skipper in a dead effort to get her to move quicker. Alana jumped away from her desk and slid on her knees to Sam's side. She placed to slender blue fingers over the pulse point within the spectres neck and gulped loudly. Dr. Sanis then activated her omni-tool and ran it over Shepard's form. After a few minutes she turned the holo-graphic device off and shook her head.

"I'm… sorry… I…"

"No! You have to be wrong! Check it again." Kaidan suddenly demanded angrily. Alana looked up from where she knelt and shook her head again.

"The result would remain the same… she suffered from massive organ failure. I am surprised she survived as long as she did, all the others had either died instantly or… mutated within the first few minutes. Again, I am terribly sorry." The asari doctor winced with emotional pain when Tai began sobbing. Wrex pulled the young girl closer to himself; showing rare emotions that not many would pay attention to, seeing as they were all trapped in their own grief.

"This can't be happening…" Garrus stated weakly as he backed away from Sam's body. "The commander is too strong for this!" Ash gave him a gentle pat upon the shoulder, before combing her shaky fingers though her sweat drenched hair. She spared Liara a quick glance, but the asari was too busy drowning in sorrow, and understandably so to.

"I'll contact the Normandy." She said, her voice verging on breaking. Kaidan gave her a single nod. The chief tapped the comm unit in her ear and braced herself for professionalism –something which was becoming increasingly harder to do with each second.

"Normandy to shore party! Damnit Shepard, are you even there?" Joker's cocky voice blurted out over the link, starting Ashley's whirring emotions again. The last time she had heard him speak was aboard the Normandy; during the debrief, just the thought of it brought a lump to her throat.

The chief cleared her throat before replying to Joker's call. "Uhm… Joker, it's Ashley. We… uhm… we have aborted the mission for now." There was a long pause on his end of the line before his familiar –and oddly soothing- voice came back over the intercom.

"I… okay… the airlock is prepped for your arrival." He was about to knock the link off, but Williams caught him before he was able.

She let out a tremendously shaky sigh before speaking. "One more thing Moreau. Have Chakwas ready… we have a fatality." Ash choked up on her last word, causing Joker great distress. Add that to the fact that she used his official name to address him; and he knew something horrible had happened.

"A… a fatality?" He queried hesitantly.

"Yes… Commander Shepard was killed in action."

* * *

A/N: *Wipes away tear* Ahh, sorry about that my loyal readers. Sorry about the delay on this one, I have no honest excuses, but please bear with me. And also, please, please, please review. It really helps with my muse!

P.S: Sorry about ending it on such a bad/sad note, I simply thought that that would be the perfect point to stop, but rest assured there will be more up soon. Trust me. I am going to get my act together. :D Till next time; dudes and dudettes! *Waves*


	12. Damage

**Mass Effect: An Epic Tale: Chapter 12.**

Peewit22

* * *

There was a collective silence as everybody sat in the mess hall, unsure of if there was anything to say. It had been a shock for _everybody _aboard the Normandy, for some it had happened to fast; that they were still unsure if it had even happened at all. The silence was semi-broken when a pair of heavy, messy footsteps, followed by some average ones. Ash looked up from her untouched polystyrene cup of water to see Joker and Chakwas approaching them side-by-side.

"Hey…" The pilot offered weakly, before slumping into a nearby seat. Ash could see that his cheeks –What bits she could see, anyway- were red, as were his eyes. He had been crying. The chief wasn't surprised, to be honest, he had known the skipper the longest out of everyone –save for Chakwas and Anderson- and it was only right that he express his grief.

The awkward silence lingered for a few more minutes before the Doctor decided to break it. "Did anyone else get injured; whilst you were in there?" Each person around the table looked at one another to silently confer.

"Guess not." Kaidan replied tersely. If it was not enough that the woman he admired… the woman that he loved; had just died, he had also begun to experience the insistent thud and the fuzzy vision that represented an impending migraine. He clenched his jaw tightly, the muscles visibly flexing there. Chakwas noticed this and took a step closer to where the young lieutenant was sat.

"Here." She subtly placed a small orange pill container on the table beside his elbow. The kind gesture surprised him a little –not that it should have. This was Chakwas after all…- He looked up at the doctor, his dark, bloodshot eyes studying her own for a second, before offering her a weak smile.

"Thanks, doc." He whispered his praise. Deftly; he took the container under the table and popped it open taking two of the oval shaped pills into his hand. He took his own cup of water off of the table, taking a sip and swallowing both pills at once. He pocketed the container, giving Chakwas a nod before she stepped away.

Once again, silence ruled the room… for a while anyhow. "What happened in there?" Joker asked no one in particular. Each member of the ground team looked down to their laps. The commander's death was not a taboo subject, but those… things… and the way it took Shepard away from them… it was awful. Kaidan felt the strong pills begin to work their magic and since nobody else was answering the pilots query; he thought he'd step in.

The lieutenant cleared the lump in his throat with a cough, inadvertently drawing the room's attention to himself. Even some of the crew had turned to listen, young engineer that Garrus had befriended: Jessops, included. "When we got aboard the vessel; everything was fine… but the further we ventured in, the weirder things got." Kaidan paused briefly as he sighed and ran his shaky fingers through his dark, matted hair. The rest of the ground team knew how this part went and attempted to busy themselves with mundane things, Ash picked at her nails and Liara buried her face in the palms of her hands whilst Dr. Chakwas soothed her by rubbing her upper back; though she kept her hearing focused upon Kaidan explanation. "We reached this _big_ room, it looked like a canteen, but when we got there it was half destroyed. When we walked a few yards further there was this… this screech, I thought my brain was going to burst." Alenko winced as he recalled the noise, the pain… the creature. "There was this thing, in the corner of the room, the same thing that screeched. It was… it looked human, but it was all hunched, on all fours like some kind of twisted animal. It's face was human, but the skin… it was like black leather, disgusting. The thing stood there; watching us-" Before Kaidan could finish his sentence a tiny voice over lapped him.

"Good lord…" Jessops muttered from where he stood near Kaidans usual post, before fainting. Garrus saw what had happened and quickly got to his feet.

"Spirits, can't he keep it together for a few minutes?" The turian sighed as he paced over to the young man. He effortlessly picked the young lad up and carried him towards the med-bay. Once inside he lay the boy down on the nearest bed to the door. Garrus was about to leave, but before he did; he noticed the curtained off area closest to the med-bay lab. He had an urge to go over there and pay the commander some last respects, but he thought better of it. It was not his place to be nosing around. With that in mind; he left young Jessops and strolled back out into the mess hall, taking back his seat. His "ears" picked up the last part of Kaidans retelling and from that he gathered that he had already missed a lot.

"The metal filling cabinet was filled to the brim with these… small vials, all of which were filled with human blood. You found the same, right Chief?" He asked Ash curiously, but everyone around them could sense the deep pain within his voice.

Williams nodded weakly, not really in the mood for speaking, even if it was a simple "Yes" or "No." Alenko understood though, he had the same lump in his throat; only he could somehow speak around it. Kaidan sniffled back his tears before continuing with the worst part of their journey. "That was when it started. It… she…" His shoulders started to shake and he buried his face in the palms of his hands, much like Liara had. When the usually strong lieutenant started to quietly sob; Ash –who was sat next to him- pulled him into a hug. He sobbed into her shoulder after that. Most of the Normandy's crew knew that he had a crush on the Commander and only Ash, Joker and Liara knew that he loved her. It may have seemed odd to others, but Shepard was an oddity. Charismatic and charming when she needed to be, other times she could be jovial and childish –In a good way- Other times she could be stern and authoritative, but all in all; she was just Shepard… the woman that they all admired and would have followed to the ends of the 'verse, even to hell itself if they were asked. To loose somebody that great; was a huge setback to them, to the whole galaxy in fact. Now what would they do about the reaper threat?

Garrus saw the lieutenant's emotional display and decided to carry it on. The crew did have a right to know after all. He cleared his throat; drawing the crowd of upset faces to himself. "That was when the… _creature, _attacked. I'm still not sure what happened, but it caught her on the neck," He paused as he scratched the front of his fringe with one of his large digits. Chakwas took this opportunity to divulge some more information on that.

"Even though we have yet to perform any significant tests or such like, however, we did discover that whatever kind of being it was that attacked our Spectre; had injected some kind of venom into her blood stream, which systematically shut down her major organs, but we still have to run tests on that front. But, Like Dr. Sanis had previously pointed out to you; Shepard was lucky to survive as long as she did." Chakwas finished morosely.

Joker looked up from his slumped position. "She was tough, I'll give her that." He added sadly. "I can't believe she's gone. She was… like this immovable stone, the person that people could go to for help… and now she's… just gone." A random crew member reached forward and patted the pilot upon the shoulder in a vain attempt to soothe him.

"Yeah… isn't that the truth." Wrex chimed in, an odd quietness within his usually booming voice. "She helped me retrieve my families armour; I could not have expected that mission to go any better than it did. Shepard was a true battlemaster." There was a round of cheers from the mess-hall supporting Wrex's opinion.

"She helped me find Dr. Saleon. And she taught me a few important life lessons during that mission… even with all of my complaining…" Wrex chuckled fondly, remembering that mission and the look on Garrus' face when Sam told him not to shoot. Garrus had struggled with that logic at first, but when she explained it; it all became much clearer. They ended up shooting the deranged salarian eventually, but not after Garrus had learnt his lesson. "Questions first –If possible- Bullets later." The spectres powerful voice reverberated within his mind, bringing his mandibles into the turian form of a grin.

Liara had stayed silent as she listened to the stories of the woman who her heart ached for, but her throat was constricted rending her useless to the conversation. Quietly; she rose from her seat. She gave Ash one glance and the Chief understood, she went to stand to, but Liara motioned her hand for her to sit back down. The broken asari quickly paced over to the med-bay hoping to find some solace in the silence of "her" old room. When she entered the med-bay; she paid no attention to her surroundings, she simply kept her bloodshot eyes focused upon her moving feet. When she reached hand up to the pad that would open the med-lab door for her; she paused. Chancing a glance over to the nearest bed, she saw the curtain drawn around it. Liara knew why and it broke her heart to even think about it.

Hesitantly, she pulled her hand away from the door control and moved over to the curtain. With a shaky hand; Liara drew the fabric to the side and stifled a gasp when she saw Sam on the table. She had had her armour removed and neatly placed upon another metal table beside where she lay. She still had her black compression shirt on, as well as her boxer shorts, but her bottom half was covered with a thin white sheet, its colour not that dissimilar to Samantha's skin. Liara bit down on her bottom lip to stop a sob from escaping when she noticed the awful purple veins under her loves skin and the horrid gash underneath her ear. She took the spectres hand into her own, but it was not the same. Her hand was cold and lifeless within Liara's own, bringing tears to the asari's eyes. This was not the Shepard… not the woman she had fallen in love with. Not the woman who had swept her off her feet whilst simultaneously saving her life. No. That creature had warped her, changed her with its spite. There was no stopping her this time, a cry escaped her lips as she fell to her knees, Shepard's cold, dead hand still held within Liara soft azure one.

'_I need you, Sam! The entire galaxy needs __**you; **__you cannot walk away from them.' _Liara argued internally, still in denial that the love of her life was gone. _'I need you! Goddess… I need you…' _Her grip unknowingly tightened on the limp hand as she hoped and prayed that Sam would just squeeze back… but alas, it was not to be. The tears continued to stream down her face, the hoarse sobs escaping her lips. Why was this happening? She had just discovered the one person who could make her truly happy, only to have her cruelly snatched away before they could even begin their lives together. What ifs ran rampant in Liara's head as she wondered what could have been if Sam was still around. After the reapers, what then? It brought even more tears to the asari' eyes just to imagine their non-existent future.

She let go of Shepard's hand and cupped her face; in a hopeless effort to stop the tears. After a long moment of silent weeping, Liara got to her feet, her shaky legs protesting slightly. The asari clutched the wall for support; as well as Sam's examination table. Her sore eyes unable to look at the woman of her heart. With one final sigh; she left, pushing her way past the curtain and practically collapsing onto her cot in another harsh fit of tears.

* * *

The Normandy had been drifting for a few days; aiming for nowhere in particular. Most of the crew were still mourning the loss of Shepard. Joker was to, but he still hadn't been given orders to take them anywhere, so he simply took his mind off thing by putting his "Baby" through her paces. He had a vague idea of where they were, he would only have to look at the navigational chart and he'd know, but there was something special about just… drifting along with no particular aim.

"Joker, where is our current location?" Presley asked out of the blue, startling the young pilot slightly. With and internal sigh, Joker checked the chart and was shocked to notice that he had somehow taken them all the way into the Amada system of the Omega nebula. Jeff cleared his throat before replying nervously to the "Now C.O" Presley.

"Uhh… Amada system, Omega nebula, sir." Joker winced when he heard the elder gent sigh, thoroughly expecting a lecture, but when none came his features relaxed somewhat. The pilot turned his head as much as possible and saw Presley leaning down behind the red haired ensign as she pointed to various spots upon her holo-screen. The "C.O" had a half determined and half confused expression upon his weathered face; joker did not know what to make of it. Instead of prying further; he turned back to his own console, his brows furrowing when he noticed an anomaly on his chart.

"I'm picking something up on the systems… looks like a cruiser, but it doesn't match any of our known signatures." Joker reports coolly. Usually these types of things amounted to nothing, but they were reported anyway.

The ensign checked her own screen again, checking her there and everywhere. "Could it be the geth?" She offered, positively stumped by the nature of the unidentified object. Joker shook his head wordlessly and began frantically working his fingers over the interface. Something was off. Why was it getting so close?

"They've changed courses; they are now on intercept trajectory!" The ensign shouted in an alarmed tone. Joker kept his calm front in place as he studied the readings. The ships core seemed to be heating up rapidly; indicating that some kind of weapon was being engaged.

"Brace for evasive manoeuvres!" Joker bellowed as he swept the ship down and to the left; hoping to avoid whatever hell kind of gun the larger vessel had aimed at them. There was a large blast from behind him, followed by a few shrill screams.

"Presley?" The ensign leapt out of her seat and reached for the older man, but before she could another blast hit the Normandy sending her head first into a sharp cornered wall. Without looking back; Joker knew she –and Presley- were dead. His fingers continued to dance across the now red dials, as he prayed to whomever was available that the ship and her crew would survive this; they had to. Shepard did not die for nothing…

* * *

**A few moments earlier:**

One of the Normandy's medics strolled into the med-bay; to run the final tests upon Shepard. They still had to perform and official autopsy, but that would most likely be conduct when they arrived at the Citadel. The medic sighed as she looked up from her data-pad, her gaze lingering at the curtain that surrounded her C.O's body. She pressed forward and gently hitched the curtain to one side. She looked at the monitors that had been put in place to keep Shepard's body intact, the readings; however, were coming in faster than she could track, something was up… a dead body did not give out this much energy… a normal body did not give out this much! Not even a Krogan would have!

Just as she stepped back so she could reach Chakwas; Shepard's eyes shot open and her hand automatically grabbed the medic by the collar, lifting her off her feet slightly. As the commander went to sit up; she winced and hissed, her spare hard clutching at her temple. She released the hold she had on the medic, who in turn made a mad dash for the door.

As she ran for the door, a sudden explosion knocked the medic off of her feet ramming her into the wall just ahead of Chakwas' desk. Her neck made a sickly crack as she came into contact with the wall. Sam looked on speechlessly at the now deceased woman. _'What the hell's going on here? And why am I in the med-bay?' _The spectre asked herself as she got to her feet, unsteady legs nearly buckling as she touched the floor. Another explosion rocked the ship, nearly knocking Shepard to the ground, but she grabbed the examination table in time to support her weakened frame. Her ears picked up the sound of a few blood-curdling screams, her immediate reaction was to dart over to the med-lab so she could get Liara to safety, but that plan flew out the window when she saw the asari run straight past the curtain that Sam was behind and out through the doors. The spectre tried to go after her, but her legs nearly buckled once again, she would have shouted but the sore pain in her throat old her not to even try.

* * *

Liara ran as fast as her feet would allow up to the cockpit, a welcome relief washing over her when she noticed Joker alive in his seat. "Joker! We must get out of here!" She stepped forward and gently grabbed his bicep, but the pilot yanked it away. He hissed with pain; the action obviously unsettling his bones.

"I can still save her!" He whined angrily. His eyes widened when he saw the ship on the monitor. "Their coming around for another attack!" Liara quickly grabbed his arm –With much more force this time- and pulled him out of his seat; before practically throwing him into an escape pod.

"Joker, do not be reckless! The Normandy is a ship, nothing more than an object. Do not risk everything you have over an array of burnt and melted metal shards!" Liara argued sternly as she hopped into the pod, sealing the bar over her shoulders. Joker dropped his head, his bearded chin resting awkwardly against the metal bar that ran across his chest.

Liara quickly jabbed the button; effectively sealing the doors and firing them away from the molten wreckage. When they were at a safe distance; Jeff looked up from his position only to notice the tears gently falling down the asari's cheeks. "Doctor, are you okay?" He released the bar across his chest with a hiss and limped over to the seat next to the tearful asari archaeologist.

"Shepard… Shepard's body… she's gone." Liara whimpered painfully. Joker didn't know where to put himself. She was right of course; Shepard's corpse would have been lost in the attack. "She's gone!" Liara cried hoarsely. Jeff released the metal bar from her shoulders and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, muttering comforting words as she cried herself to oblivion.

* * *

Shepard awoke to an immensely uncomfortable heat and an intense pressure upon her shoulders. It took her a few minutes of solid thinking for her to recall where she was. During the attack she had dived into the spare escape pod located in the Normandy's lower reaches, sure she had to climb through an air vent or two to get there, but it was there and it _had_ saved her life. She checked the Normandy for any other signs of life only to find that there were none –other than herself- she proceeded by diving into the dusty, forgotten escape pod, releasing it into the atmosphere. The spectre paid no attention to setting appropriate co-ordinates or relative guidelines; she simple released it and hoped for the best.

She released the harness that was holding her in place; falling forward onto her knees with a chesty cough. "Damn it…" The Commander muttered to herself. The heat causing her to feels sticky and uncomfortable. She crawled over to the hatch; giving the handle a stiff turn and booting the door with the sole of her booted foot, forcing it to release with a creaky squeal. Instantly Sam was hit by a cool breeze. But her stomach lurched when she observed her surroundings.

Dust, sand, cracked mud, a bright sun high in the azure blue sky; belting down on her skin painfully. Surrounding her was nothingness; just more of the same. She jumped out from the pod, dusting her hands off on her trousers. She lifted her head once more to observe the barren landscape and sighed. "Damn it!"

* * *

A/N: Sorry for being so short, I am on a very, very tight schedule. I'm due to hop on a plane in less than… four hours and I have plenty of other stuff to do. Please, please review guys. You all rule! Sorry about any mistakes, as I said before: Tight schedule. I wanted to give you this before I left. Soo… Ta-daa!

Thanks for all your reviews everyone, it made my day. See you in two weeks y'all! :D


	13. What Goes Around Comes Around, Pt 1

**Mass Effect: Epic Tale: Chapter 13:**

Peewit22

So, so sorry for waiting this long to post another chapter. I've had an awful lot going on over here, but I won't bore anyone with that crap. Before we head on to the next instalment; I'd just like to thank everyone who favorited or whatever, you guys rule, truly! Any who, I shan't procrastinate any more than I already have. Onward and upwards! XD

* * *

Eventually Liara cried herself dry, not that Joker was complaining. The pilot hated to see Liara like this. He pulled away from her slightly, his red rimmed eyes giving her a concerned once-over. "We still have our memories of her." Joker offered weakly. Liara knew that he was speaking the truth, but she missed the way _Shepard_ held her protectively whilst they slept, the way _Shepard _kissed her forehead when they awoke, the feel of _Shepards_ soft, fine hair in between her digits, _these_ were things that she knew Joker would not… could not understand.

"You are right." The doctor sniffled as she pulled herself completely free of his comforting embrace. Jeff reached into his pocket and revealed a clean square of folded tissue; which he offered to the sniffling Asari. "Thank you." They sat in silence for a while, both beings bringing forth all of the many, many memories that they had of their spectre.

The silence continued as Liara tapped more deeply into her memories. There were so many memories in comparison to the small amount of months she and Shepard had known one another, even less if she filtered it through to the amount of time she and the spectre had spent as an official couple. Liara had never had the opportunity to fully meld with Sam. They had kissed, touched and so-on, but Liara never actually explored Shepards extraordinary, Prothean-altered mind. On occasion, when she and Sam got carried away with their kissing, Liara would feel Shepards mind; her own aching to establish that link. More often than not however, that would be put on hold –Usually because of what Shepard had branded "A Joker interruption." At that point 'Sam' would become 'commander' and whatever they were doing previously would have do come to a reluctant stand-still.

The Asari archaeologist shot the oblivious pilot an irritated glance. Her hard eyes quickly softened, however, after what they had all been through in the past few days; she could not help but let her anger slip away. How was he to know what she and Shepard were doing? She wouldn't put spying past the young human, but that was just typical Jeff behaviour… or so Sam and Ashley had once told her.

_Ashley…_

The archaeologists worry flared up erratically. What had happened to the others? Were they alright? Tali, Garrus, goddess; even Wrex! Joker noticed the doctors sudden odd turn in physical behaviour. He knew exactly what was wrong. "Don't worry. I'm sure their all A-Okay." Liara's 'brows furrowed at his human terminology; causing Joker to sigh amusedly. "They'll be okay. Trust me here, doc."

T'soni couldn't argue with that. Joker seemed so sure of himself. It must be a human thing… or a "Joker thing." Liara nodded weakly before pressing the palms of her hands to her face, the fatigue finally starting to settle in. In between crying and trying to busy herself with all and any of the Prothean artifacts that Shepard had picked up along their journey; Liara had had next to no sleep what-so-ever. Now however; it was all crashing down on her. Liara's eyelids started to droop, her muscles becoming lax as she struggled to sit straight.

"You should get some rest. It's not like we'll be going anywhere anytime soon." Jokers rough voice momentarily sobered her sleepy mind, but again the tiredness started to press her for much needed rest. Liara reluctantly nodded, settling her weary head against the cold metal bulkhead to her left. Her sore, bloodshot eyes welcoming the new found darkness. Joker watched over her until the doctors breathing evened out into a slow but steady pace, only then did he remove his hat, twisting the garment in between his bony digits. He recalled the recent memory of Shepard flicking it off his head and onto the floor, and with that a single, silent tear rolled down his gaunt cheek, embedding itself in amongst the coarse hair of his beard.

'_What I wouldn't do to get Shepard back, not only for the crew; but for Liara…'_

* * *

Shepard limped away from the pods steaming wreckage, her boots kicking up a miniature dust clouds whenever they made contact with the crusty mud floor. There was a horrendous pain emanating from the side of her neck, as well as her right calf. Shepard reached a shaky hand up to her neck; hoping to discover the source of her pain. As her fingertips traced over it; she grimaced, her reflexes rapidly jolting her probing hand away. Without sparing a glance to her bloodied digits, she looked down to her aching calf.

'_Sonofamotherfuckingwhore!'_

Protruding from the muscle was a large shard of metal. Sam knew pulling the object out was a bad, bad, bad idea, but to ass with that! She grabbed the metal shard with a firm grip. "Crap!" Shepard growled as she stumbled backwards, the pain making her vision swim. The spectre glanced around, spotting a nearby rock. She limped over to the rock heavily; every twitch the muscle in her right calf made causing her vision to blur further. She thudded down onto the flat piece of dusty rock, the small amount of pain this action caused not even comparing to how her leg and neck currently felt. Shepard took a brief moment to collect her currently sparse thoughts before putting a firm grip around the metal shard once more.

"Come on Sammy, you're brave… you can do this. Come on." Her grasp on the shard tightened significantly, so much so that the whites of her knuckles were now visible. Her last thought turned to an angelic blue face. "Liara." The commander whispered; almost like a prayer as she sharply tugged the large piece of shrapnel. "Fuck…" And then it was free. Shepard unsteadily got to her feet and took a step forward, failing completely, however, the sudden jolt of pain causing her to pass out and fall to the ground with a dull thud, her unconscious body bringing up another small dust cloud.

* * *

Ashley had contacted the Alliance to let them know what had happened, that experience had felt completely surreal to her.

"_Uh… this is Chief Williams, the Normandy has been attacked and we require immediate aid!" _Williams laughed under her breath as she thought back on that moment. She shouldn't have really though, people _did _die, the Normandy _was_ gone… All in all: it sucked.

As it happened; an Alliance patrol was passing by, '_lucky or what?'_ Ash chided her sarcastic side once more. She should look at the bright side: '_No more work, right?'_

"Go fuck yourself, Ash…" The chief muttered to herself. She had worked hard to get where she was today, and thanks to the skipper; she may get further yet. There was an icy stab in her stomach when she remembered the commander. Sure; they had fought recently, but when Shepard was herself she only wanted what was best for her chief.

Ashley's thoughts came to a gentle halt when she felt someone take the seat next to her. The human slowly turned her hung head to see who it was, frowning slightly when she realised that it was the Asari doctor. Williams no longer had _major_ issues with aliens, no, it was just that this _specific_ one reminded her to much of the recent mission where they lost Shepard.

"What is it, Dr. Sanis?" Ash was terse with her, but she didn't mean anything by it. The timid Asari softly cleared her throat before proceeding.

"Do Humans often converse with themselves?" It was meant as an innocent question, but Alana could tell by the Humans odd facial expression that her words hadn't come out correctly. "My apologies, chief. I merely wished to inquire about something." Ash waved her hand haphazardly; which Dr. Sanis took as a sign of consent. "A few moments ago you said," Alana cleared her throat again and glanced around the pod to make sure that there was no one listening in. Once she was sure; the sky blue Asari turned back to Williams so she could continue her train of thought. "Ehm…" She cupped her mouth with one hand blocking anyone from lip-reading her. Alana leant closer to Ash, the hand that cupped her mouth stopping just short of the Humans right ear. "You said 'Go fuck yourself, Ash'," The doctor sat back, her hand coming up to scratch her chin in deep thought. "I'm sorry to ruin things for you, chief, but I do not think it is possible for one to do such a thing…" She leant closer again. "To… uhm… to 'fuck' oneself." Alana clarified. Ash lifted an index finger in an attempt to intervene, but before she was allowed to; Sanis obliviously butted in. "No, of course it is possible! For Humans, Asari even Volu-"

"_It was a figure of speech_, doctor!" Ash managed to interrupt before the Asari doctor ended up saying something that would end up scarring her for the rest of her natural born days. The Asari sat up straighter in her own chair and gave the chief a dainty shrug. The pair sat in an awkward silence for a short period, and even though Ash hadn't known the Asari for very long; she knew that the doctor was just itching to say _something._

After a few more moments; Alana decided that _that_ time was now. "I was just going to say that Volus can pleasure thems-"

"No." The chief said simply, stopping the Asari dead in her tracks.

"What? What is happening?" Alana asked with worried curiosity.

"It means _no. _Now be quiet." Ash's tone was light, suggesting that she meant no harm by her comment. Alana nodded hesitantly, straightening in her seat as she did so. The sky blue Asari brushed some invisible dust off of her forearm before settling back against the bulkhead, her legs slightly apart and her arms folded tightly over her chest. Williams chuckled under her breath when she noticed that the doctor was unconsciously mimicking her position.

"Chief, may I query as to what are you laughi-"

"_No."_

"I understand…"

* * *

_Liara gently pried her tired eyes open. She felt something warm and solid behind her. The Asari smiled brightly when she realised what –Or who, rather- it was. As the rest of her body slowly started to awake; Liara felt two strong arms wrapped protectively around her waist, one hand resting on her stomach, the other on her hip. Liara didn't want to wake "The Saviour of the Citadel" but a little part of her wanted to. Eventually that 'little' part of her brain won out._

_The doctor gently rolled over in Shepards embrace, mindful of the few injuries that still plagued her lover. Liara came face to sleeping face with Shepard, the Human who had taken over her heart forever. For a brief time she simply observed the sleeping woman's face, noting how at peace she looked… not to mention cute. Liara placed a soft kiss to the uninjured side of Shepards brow, rousing her lover out of her slumber somewhat. She continued to pepper gentle kisses upon Sam's face until their lips softly met, both of which were now fully awake._

"_You make an __**awesome**__ alarm clock." Sam teased; her voice still husky from sleeping. Liara raised one of her slender blue digits to softly caress the Shepards taught jawline._

"_Hello to you too…" Shepard chortled gruffly at the Asari's comment before kissing her way from the nape of Liara's neck to just below her 'ear'. Liara moaned softly under Shepards ministrations. She knew that they would have to stop soon, Samantha was still healing and Chakwas had ordered her to keep Shepard under control, something which Liara intended to do._

"_Shepard…" Her voice was barely more than a whisper. To be honest; Liara didn't fancy breaking the mood, but with the way Shepard was carrying on; she knew she'd have to. The doctor could feel Sam's mind beginning to brush against her own, and Liara knew that if she let herself fully merge with Shepard; she would not be able to stop herself. With that in mind, Liara placed two stern but gentle hands upon each of her lovers collarbones, pushing her away ever-so-slightly._

_Shepard viewed her quizzically; hoping that she had not over stepped the mark. She wanted to let Liara take things at her own pace. Liara waggled her slender blue digit in front of Sam's worried face, a devious smirk playing upon her gorgeous features. "Chakwas said __**no**__." Liara chided her lover amusedly. _

_Shepard sighed theatrically, rolling onto her back and throwing her hands into the air. "Are you aware that you've said Chakwas' name more times in this bedroom then you have mine?" Liara could see that Shepard was teasing her. She smiled before placing a doting kiss to Sam's shoulder blade, her finger tracing over the noticeable bump in Shepard's collarbone._

_A comfortable silence fell over the happy couple for a brief time. Shepard simply stared at the roof, her mind following the relaxing patterns that Liara made over her shoulder. "You have never told me about this." Liara stated softly, her finger resting carefully over the bump upon Sam's shoulder. Shepard blinked slowly before lowering her brilliant green gaze to see as to what Liara was referring to._

"_Hmm?" _

_Liara placed another doting kiss upon the out of place bump, her pale blue eyes meeting with their brilliant green counterparts. "Oh that…" Sam smiled to herself as she recalled the memory, gaining her a vexed look from the young Asari. "Sorry. When I was a kid; I broke my collarbone. This is just what it left behind… like a sort of scar, I suppose." Liara nodded against her lovers shoulder._

"_Does it hurt?" Liara asked; her voice filled with concern and worry. Shepard smiled and kissed the Asari's forehead._

"_Not particularly, no." Liara simply stared at her lover; as if she was anticipating more. "Is something wrong?" Shepard asked; her own worry audible._

_Liara sat up a little, her head now resting atop Sam's shoulder. A lone digit continued to soothingly trace the long since healed injury. "Are you not going to tell me just __**how **__this occurred?" She teased whilst pressing her once curious digit to Shepards breastbone._

_Sam scoffed. "What, and bore you to death? I'm good on that score, thanks." Liara shook her head as she reached her soft blue hand down to intertwine her fingers with Shepards longer tanned ones._

"_Shepard, if there is one thing in this Galaxy that I love more than Prothean Studies; it would be learning everything about you and your past. __**Now talk**__." Liara ordered. Shepard would have thought her serious… had the Asari not tried to bury her smile against the crook of her neck. Shepard couldn't argue with that, in all honesty. It wasn't as if it was a particularly dark story, either; just not as exciting as one might think._

_Sam nodded to herself and sat up against the headboard, pressing a soft kiss to Liara's forehead once she was comfortable. Liara also shifted; snuggling closer to Shepard, one arm draped over the woman's naked chest, her hand resting upon the side of Sam's neck, the other cosily tucking beneath Shepards back, her thumb soothingly stroking said area. Shepard cleared her throat theatrically, provoking a poke and a soft giggle from her lover. _

"_Well… it isn't an exciting story, so don't get your hopes up."_

"_Shepard…" Liara warned teasingly._

_Sam held her hand up in a mock defensive gesture. "Okay, okay." She said through a bright smile. Liara couldn't resist, reaching up, she pressed a kiss to Shepards lips, silencing the humans laughter momentarily._

"_When I was younger-"_

"_Younger?" Liara interrupted; her curiosity almost tangible._

_Sam sighed; the hand behind Liara's back coming up to give the Asari's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Yeah, I was about fifteen at the time. I…" Sam's brows furrowed slightly, her gaze focusing upon the locked door on the far side of the room. Liara looked up into Shepards brilliant green eyes._

"_Shepard, what is wrong? Talk to me." Her voice was soft, no more than a whisper as her hand briefly left the spectres neck to gently caress her jaw._

_At that moment; Shepard seemed to fall out of whatever stupor she had been in. She looked back down at Liara and smiled lopsidedly, that smile that got Liara's heart pumping a little faster every single time. "Yeah, sorry. Let me just say now that during a short period of my youth; I was a bit… uh… ungovernable." Liara chuckled a little and kissed Sam's chin._

"_Imagine that." Liara stated through a wide smile. "And how did your unruliness lead to this?" Liara punctuated her query by gently tapping Sam's out of place collar bone with her index finger._

_Sam sighed, but the smile upon her face betrayed the action. "A long time ago; me and a friend found this motorbike-"_

"_Motorbike?"_

_Shepard looked to the Asari searchingly, but after a few moments she realised that there was probably a gap in between what Humanity and what the Asari considered a viable mode of transport. Something in her mind would not let her imagine what an Asari would look like upon a motorbike, in skin tight leather… Liara in skin tight leather? Now her brain was talking!_

"_Shepard?" Liara probed concernedly._

_Sam came out of her thoughts with a faint shake of the head. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Shepard softly kissed Liara's brow, the pad of her thumb rubbing a soothing up and down pattern upon the Asari's bicep. _

_For a moment; Shepard could have sworn that Liara's facial expression had turned incredulous. "I wasn't the one talking, you were!" Liara barked amusedly. Her expression changed almost immediately, however, when she saw Shepard's "Pout" She could never be mean as far as that pout was concerned, and the worst part about that was that Shepard knew it._

"_Oh, really? Oh right, of course… where was I..?"_

"_Motorbike." The Asari chimed in happily. Even though Shepard still hadn't even attempted to explain what in the universe a "Motorbike" was, she could hazard a guess. Asari did have similar methods of transport, and the names were not that dissimilar when examined._

"_So, me and a friend found this motorbike after school, and we decided to take it for a whirl… ah… but it didn't turn out very well, and this happened." Shepard pressed her middle finger firmly to the bump upon her shoulder, which Liara flapped away with her own hand. Once Shepard's finger was off of the healed injury, Liara placed a delicate kiss upon it. Sam sighed and pulled Liara closer against her. "I've told you it doesn't hurt anymore…" However, the Commander's protests were silenced with a slender blue digit pressing softly against her lips. _

"_Even so, there is no need to aggravate it. You, my spectre, are still healing. I want you back on your feet, not back in the med-bay. Are we clear?" As if she were strengthening her point, Liara scooted impossibly closer to her lover her grip tightening slightly, but she was still careful as to irritate the healing scars that Shepard still had scattered across her body._

"_Yes, ma'am…" Shepard knew that out there –out there meaning outside of her cabin- she was the Commander, no doubt, but right now __**inside **__her cabin; Liara was in charge… the orders Dr. Chakwas had given Liara reasoned with the reluctant Spectre somewhat._

"_So you crashed this vehicle I take it?" Sam rolled her eyes. She didn't mind talking about it, but she felt stupid having the daughter of a powerful Asari matriarch clarifying that she had indeed "crashed" a vehicle during her youth._

"_Yeah…"_

"_Shepard, you are a relatively smart person, yes; you can be a little impulsive at times, but crashing a vehicle? Where in the name of the Goddess did you crash it?"_

"_Relatively smart?" _

"_Shepard…" Her lover warned._

"_Okay, okay… I crashed it into the side of our school principal's car." Liara suddenly went wide-eyed. "I know, I know, I'm stupid; I get that, but in the end; I think I more than paid for my mistake." Shepard rested her hand over the bump in her collarbone, wincing slightly when she recalled the pain of that day. Liara rested her hand upon the hand Shepard had over her collarbone, their fingers intertwining._

"_Yes, you appear no worse for wear, and it probably could have been worse."_

"_Yeah, I could have broken the bike." Shepard chortled until she saw Liara's deadpan expression, then her smiled quickly collapsed. _

_After a moments silence, Liara looked back to her lover, that familiar inquisitive expression covering her beautiful blue face. "Did you get into trouble?" _

"_I didn't to begin with; I think everyone was more concerned with all the blood, then they were with the dent in the principles car." Shepard sighed half-heartedly. _

"_What about your friend?" Liara inquired innocently. Sam knew that that question was coming, but her jaw still flexed tightly when the words came out. It wasn't Liara's fault, though, how was she to know about the events of that day?_

"_I… uhm… yeah, she got hurt more than I did… she got into more trouble, too."_

_Liara could sense Shepard's reluctance. She felt the muscles in the women's body tense when she mentioned "her friend" of course Liara wanted to know more. She was a scientist after all, and when the subject matter involved Shepard; she wanted to know all she could. That being said, however, she did not wish to hurt Shepard, so she took the only route she could think of. "Shepard, if you do not wish to speak of it; that would be fine by me. I do not wish to offend you..."_

"_No," Sam softly interrupted. "You could __**never **__offend me." Shepard snuggled closer to her lover. Liara had come to see as a sign of vulnerability, something which she hardly ever saw from Shepard. After a long, pregnant pause Shepard finally turned her gaze back to Liara, a quiet rage burning beneath the usually calm green depths of her eyes. "My friends name is Dexter… Dexter Wolfe." Where had Liara heard that name before? Wolfe… It was oddly familiar. Shepard saw Liara click into thinking mode and grinned slightly. She knew precisely where Liara's head was at. "Her family is tremendously wealthy. You've probably heard of Wolfe Corp. Her mother," Liara caught the way Shepard's face scrunched slightly at the mention of this Dexter's 'mother'. "Owns this huge Corporation: Wolfe Corp. They deal in all sorts, half of which I wouldn't even like to think about." Sam sighed, glancing to Liara she knew that she would have to explain what happened to her friend at some stage. "Anyway, let's just say Dexter's mother wasn't the kindest woman to ever live in this Galaxy." Shepards jaw clenched tightly when she remembered how the older woman had dealt with her friend. "Lucretzia, Dexter's mom, she… burst into the hospital after we'd been taken there. The doctor was in the middle of examining Dexter's broken wrist when she flew through the door; screaming about how Dexter should be more mature and less stupid. She grabbed Dex by the collar, and practically dragged her out of the hospital. The doctors called security, but against Lucretzia Wolfe they had no power."_

"_Was Dexter alright?" Liara queried, her voice full of concern for the stranger. Shepard smiled; though her mood was bleak. That was one of the many things she deeply loved about Liara: her compassion, the way she cared for those who she barely even knew. Shepard unconsciously squeezed her lover closer. _

_There was another long pause, but Liara knew to wait. Patience was key when dealing with matters of the heart. That was what Matriarch Benezia had always taught her, anyway. "I'm not sure. Dexter was different after that… she was more reserved with her actions. She came back to school five days later with a black eye and spit lip. I know for sure that that didn't happen because of the bike accident," Sam swallowed thickly, the long since buried worry remerging. "I think her mother beat her." Liara quietly gasped, covering her gaping mouth with the back of her hand. "She asked the girl she was kind of with if they could stop seeing each other on the same day she got back, but she did it like she'd been programmed to. Dex was acting all methodical and cold. She would barely speak to me for weeks after that… she would barely speak to anyone; if I'm honest." Shepard finished in a sigh._

"_That sounds awful." Liara noted half-heartedly, her hand coming to rest upon Sam's chest. "I understand Human culture is very socially based, but some of the higher socially ranked Asari are told with whom they may speak, especially some of the younger maidens. I believe I could have related to your friends predicament." Shepard slowly turned her head and looked at Liara, her once angry eyes softening._

"_I suppose you two could have related to one another." She'd never thought about it before, but the higher ranked Asari were kind of like Earth's ancient nobility. They heavily controlled who socialized with whom. Most could not simply "date" who they pleased. Their mothers and sires (If applicable) had to give their consent. It was hard for the young; higher ranked Asari… it was hard for Liara. "Dex and I used to always walk home at the end of school, but after the accident she always got picked up in her mom's limousine. She never even said goodbye half the time." Liara pressed a soft kiss to Shepards shoulder, showing her lover that she had her silent support._

"_When she eventually started to open up again; she told me that her mother was keeping a close eye upon her and that she was to go straight home after school was out. Lucretzia had even asked the principle to contact her if Dex socialized excessively during lessons. The only time Dex had to herself was lunch break, but even then she kept to herself. It was a terrible thing to see: your best friend slowly falling apart right in front of you."_

_Liara sighed inwardly. She could relate to that, too. She had watched her own mother break right before her. On minute she was sane and kind, the next she was murderous, spitting her every word at Shepard like venom. It was a painful think to observe; indeed._

_Shepard caught on to Liara's pained expression, her arms giving her lover a gentle squeeze. "Your mother will be okay. Don't ask me how, but I just know it." That was enough for Liara. She and Shepard spoke about this very subject a little each day since her mother was taken away to be… "fixed" as it were. Having Sam's shoulder to cry on if she needed it; helped her get through some of the tougher days._

"_Thank you, Shepard."_

_Sam smiled, her index finger softly tucking underneath Liara's chin so that she could lift it. Pale blue meet brilliant green. The human smiled, that smile that made Liara's heart flutter within its gilded cage. "For what?" _

'_**For what?' **__Liara thought amusedly. __**'For always being here for me. For holding me when it all gets too much. For saving my life on more than one occasion. For saving our friends on more than one occasion, for just being you!'**_

"_For being here for me." The asari smiled. Shepard's breath caught in her chest. How did she end up with this perfect specimen? _

"_You'd never have to ask." Shepard used the finger that was tucked beneath Liara's chin to gently urge her forward, and into a soft, doting kiss. "I'll always be here for you."_

* * *

Liara jolted awake, her wet cheek peeling away from the bulkhead she was leaning against. _'Goddess…' _The Asari lifted her index finger to her bottom lip, tracing the area that Shepard had once kissed. '_But it felt so real.' _She remembered that night like it was just yesterday. She could never forget Shepard telling her that she would always be there for her. How could anyone? _'You aren't though, are you?' _She asked the phantom Shepard who remained tightly wedged within her mind. _'And you never will be…' _More tears escaped her. _'Goddess, if only you were here right now. I could seek comfort in your strong arms and you could seek comfort with me.' _The Asari mentally chided herself. She needed to get her head out of the clouds. Shepard was gone and she was never going to come back, how much would it take to get herself to see that?

"Ma'am?" A strong, unfamiliar male voice dragged her away from her sorrows. She should have been great full, really. Liara hadn't noticed that they had stopped moving. She looked outside the small porthole, her eyes immediately recognising the Systems Alliance logo on the far bulkhead. When had they boarded another ship? The marine offered Liara an armoured hand to grab hold of, which she weakly grasped. The man carefully pulled her to her feet, being mindful; as she looked _very _worn out. "Ma'am, is everything okay? Do I need to call medical for assistance?" Liara shook her head; no.

"I am able to walk, but thank you, anyway." The young marine smiled, before stepping aside, giving Liara full view of her exit.

"This way, Ma'am."

Liara was too tired to argue with being called "Ma'am" so she simply followed. The warm outside air was welcoming to her goose pimpled skin. The pod must have been freezing. As her mind turned back to the escape pod; she thought of Joker. "Where is Joker?" When she saw the marines face twist into something that she decided was confusion, she decided to elaborate. "The pilot who was in the escape pod with me. Do you know where he is?"

"Oh, that guy." The tall male realised with a slight grin. If Liara wasn't so drained right now; she would have thrown a warp right in the humans face. "We took him straight to medical. He was pretty beat up. He is in good hands now, though. Do you want me to take you up to him; the doc's might just be finishing up with him now." Liara nodded her silent consent, following the human marine as he guided her towards the elevator.

"Ah, Jesus, doc! Why don't you try sticking that in somebody else's hole?" Ashley immediately pulled back the privacy curtain upon hearing the pilot's protests. Her mind completely grasping the wrong end of the stick. The chief sighed with relief when she noticed an unfamiliar doctor trying –unsuccessfully; mind- to manoeuvre a large syringe into Jokers mouth.

"What on Earth is going on here?" Chakwas queried as she gracefully swept through the med bay doors. Ash didn't say anything, but she saw the look of sheer relief wash over Jokers face when "his" doctor walked over to his bedside, gently removing the syringe from the other doctor's hands.

The male doctor visibly spluttered, his mouth not coordinating with his wild hand gestures. "Jeffrey-"

"Joker." Chakwas sternly corrected. Joker and Williams traded amused glances, both of them trying extremely hard to suppress their laughter.

"_**Joker **_here has dislocated his jaw. I need to apply local anaesthetic before I even attempt to reset it, but he refuses to cooperate…" The elderly doctor trailed off, his weathered digits coming up to massage his aching temples.

Chakwas saw that this man was stressed, hell, they all were. "Let me handle it. Go and rest." She reached over and patted the Doctor's bicep, giving him a stronger hint to leave.

"Thanks Doc, I was afraid he was goin-" Without warning, Chakwas used her gloved index finger and thumb to pry open the cocky pilot's mouth.

"Just a little pinch." And with that; she sunk the needle through his gum. The anaesthetic instantly numbing his lower jaw, making it almost impossible to speak… much to Chakwas' delight.

"Pfsn mhfern duh."

"That was graceful." Ash noted through a bright smile. Jokers face turned instantly broody, but with his lower jaw hanging slack, it didn't quite work. "I'll leave you to it Doctor. Have fun, _Jeffrey." _The chiefs laughter could be heard as she walked away, causing Joker to cross his arms over his chest like a petulant child.

"She is just teasing you, Joker." Chakwas reassured the pilot as she got to work resetting his injured jaw.

"Mhhf Ahnly smks blls!"

"I heard that." Chimed Chakwas.

"Fmuk…"

As Ash exited the med bay; she walked straight into someone else, nearly tripping ass over head. The chief knew that she was the one who wasn't paying attention and quickly turned to apologize.

"I'm so sorry; I wasn't paying attention to wher…" Ashley paused for a moment, her eyes sparking with amazement and relief when she realized who she had just bumped into. "Liara, stupid question, but are you okay?" Ashley rested her hand upon Liara's shoulder, using what little strength she had left to guide the Asari over to a nearby bench.

Liara too was relieved to see Ashley was okay. She feared the whole time that she was in the elevator that something had happened to her… to the entire Normandy crew, leaving just her and Joker behind.

"I…" This had been one of _the _single most emotional days of Liara's entire short life. Not as emotional as the day she lost Shepard the first time, but now that her lover's body had gone too. She didn't know what to do with herself. One half of her was crumbling, just waiting for a time when she could break down in peace. The other half –the half that was voiced by Shepard- calmly –and rather annoyingly- kept telling herself to pick herself up, to soldier on. She knew that is what Shepard would have wanted, which just made her more sad. She knew how Shepard had felt that she was completely expendable, and that hurt somewhere deep, deep down. How could Sam have thought so little of herself? A twitch from the hand resting upon her shoulder brought her back to reality, which, ironically, was the place that she least wanted to be right now. At least in her imagination she could have Shepard.

"I do not know where to put myself, Ashley." Liara was on the verge of tears as she spoke. Her soft voice hitching every now and then, almost as if her body was trying to prove a point.

"Hey now," Ash scooted closer to the Asari before pulling Liara's frail form into a warm, comforting embrace. "don't think like that, Liara. That isn't what-"

"Sam would have wanted… I know." Liara weakly interrupted. Williams smiled sadly. How close those two had been, they sure knew how to make a person believe in the whole "soul mates" deal.

"That being said, however, take your time to grieve. Do not let _anyone _tell you to stop crying, because they are not you. You grieve for as long as you want, I'll still be here for you, and I know the rest of the Normandy crew will be to. We'll be there, right by your side; all the way."

Liara pulled back from the embrace slightly, her tired pale blue eyes locking intently with Ashley's chocolate ones. "You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you, Ashley."

"No problem." The soldier beamed as she got to her feet, pulling Liara with her. "Now they are serving food in the canteen." Williams pointed to the ground, indicating that they would have to go down a floor to get there. "So I suggest we head there. You look starved." Liara smiled daintily, her feet already carrying her towards the elevator.

* * *

When Shepard came to her mouth felt as though it had been filled with cotton wool for at least a week. She pressed both of her palms flat against the hot dried mud beneath her, focusing all of her energy upon lifting herself up. She failed, however, the upper half of her body crashing back down against the ground. She winced when the movement sent a jolt of pain up the back of her calf.

'_Damn it, I almost forgot you were there.' _She mused about the deep wound upon the back of her leg. Out of the corner of her eye; she could see the shard of metal that she had ripped out. The offending object was smothered with dried blood, as was the ground beneath it. Shepard took a double take upon the blood.

'_What the hell?' _The Commander asked herself. The blood was purple, and even though it was dried; it still had an odd tint to it. _'Must be the sun, or something.'_ She did not remember getting attacked by that vile creature not too long ago; the pain was currently messing with her mind. _'I need to get out of here, before I die… or end up getting killed.' _Sam snorted lightly, her extremely blood-shot eyes gazing around the endless dusty plain before her. _'Small chance of that.' _

With a lot of willpower and a hard grit of the teeth, Shepard managed to roll onto her back. She pulled her aching body into an upright sitting position, making it a little easier for her to get to her feet. Bracing herself on a nearby rock, she pulled herself to her feet; however, once she was up streams of blood came cascading down her nostrils, practically ejecting itself from her nose. Shepard ran the back of her hand underneath her nose the dark purple blood smearing upon the back of her battered hand. "What the hell is his?" She asked aloud, her voice betraying her semi-confident stance. She limped over to the crashed escape pod. A shaky hand reached forth grabbing a relatively clean rag; which she then used to hold under her nose. She pinched the soft part of her nose, perched herself upon the edge of the crashed pods doorway and lent forward, she wasn't a medic, but Dr. Chakwas had told her about this enough times for it to stick. After a while the problem seemed to solve itself. The blood had stemmed itself and… _'Ugh' _Shepard threw the –now- dark purple rag into the distance, or as far as she could, anyway. What the hell was happening to her blood? Where was she? What had happened to the Normandy? …Was Liara safe?

As Shepard got to her feet she felt her head lighten up. "Not this again." Before she could brace herself against anything, her body collapsed beneath her. When her head hit the dry floor; the blood started to seep from her nose again, this time however, it was almost immediately soaked up by the deadly heat of the planets blazing sun.

* * *

**Abandoned military base: Fahlore, Lorek.**

"Boss? Something just appeared on the map!" A young Batarian almost screeched to his superior over his shoulder, his dark eyes staying glued to the monitor for fear that his "discovery" would vanish if he took his eyes off of it.

A burly looking Batarian limped his way over to the console where the other was sat. "What can you tell me, Devlak?" Before the younger Batarian could say anything; he had been spun around in his chair, bringing him face to face with his boss. Everything about this man was intimidating: his stance, his dark expression… even that scar, the scar that ran from his highest left eye; right down to the right hand side of his jaw. The scar was thick. Whatever caused it must've been incredibly hard to take down. As if he knew that the young boy was getting carried away, he grabbed him by the chin, forcing him to look directly into his dead, black eyes. "Talk." The boss ground out in between sharp teeth.

"There was a blip on the map, sir. Some kind of heat signature. It was kind of big, too." The boy squeaked, his form rigid as his superior stared him down. Without another word the older Batarian punched Devlak in the centre of his face, effectively knocking him unconscious.

Turning sharply on his heel, the man quickly paced down the corridor. As he passed by one of his guards; he reached out an armoured hand, grabbing the other Batarians assault rifle and violently ripping it from his grip. "Pull the grizzly out of the garage for me, and bring two men with you." He ordered the guard in passing. The guard fired off an unnoticed salute before heading in the opposite direction.

When the boss reached the garage his vehicle was waiting; along with the two soldiers that he had ordered. The man grinned to himself as he approached the grizzly. "Men, something has been discovered near our perimeter. I'm going to find out what it is, and you're coming with me. No questions." After he was positive that his men were on the same page as him, he climbed into the large vehicle, the two soldiers following him obediently.

* * *

Shepard cracked her eyes open, the sun blazing sun piercing them before they had properly awakened. With a grimace, she once again tried to lift herself up, and –once again- she failed. _'Fucking hell, what is wrong with me?'_ Just as she was about to repeat her previous action; she swore that she heard a noise… was it getting louder? Shepard didn't have much time to think, her eyes shutting of their own accord, dragging her back to the depth of unconsciousness.

* * *

As the grizzly pulled up, the boss spotted the molten wreckage from where he was sat, the objects metallic surface reflecting brightly off of the sun. He waited for his men to disembark the vehicle before getting out himself. _'Why risk getting shot first?'_ He had always asked himself. Once he was sure that the area was safe; he clambered out of the grizzly.

"Boss, you need to see this!" One of the other Batarians shouted out loudly. With a slight hesitation, he made his way over to his soldier, and what looked like… a corpse?

He crouched over the downturned body, his eyes giving it a quick once over. "What have you got for me?" His voice was sharp, telling the soldier to hurry up and stop wasting his _"precious"_ time.

"It is a Human… and I think it's still alive. We should probabl-"

The boss reached his arm out suddenly and gave the soldier a slap upside the head. "Shut up and show me already!" Without another word, the soldier hinted at his comrade to take the Human by the shoulders and lift them up so that his boss could see the persons face, which he now could. The human grumbled for a few minutes, which caused the boss to flinch and step behind his soldier a little.

The Humans eyes cracked open a tiny bit, obviously taking in their surroundings before finally setting upon the lead Batarian. "Balak…" The human rasped through harshly gritted teeth.

"Shepard, we meet again."

* * *

Haha, another cliff-hanger. See you soon guys. Updates will be more regular this time, honestly... Peewit22, out! :D P.S: Please review.


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